Families of Sliema murder victims: 'Very happy with the verdict'

Relatives of two men who were shot dead inside their own home have expressed relief after jurors returned guilty verdicts for two men accused of the August 2020 crime.

“We are all very happy with the verdict. We are happy that we got what they deserve,” Joseph Pandolfino told reporters outside the Valletta law courts on Saturday evening. “Their victims were cruelly murdered in their own home for no valid reason at all.”

Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski were inside their Locker Street home when thieves forced their way into their house at 10.19pm on August 18, 2020.

A commotion ensued and Pandolfino tussled with one of the men, Daniel Muka. Muka opened fire and shot him five times before shooting Maciejowski on the stairs.

Both men were killed at the scene. Muka and his accomplices, Jesper Kristiansen and Victor Dragomanski, fled the scene in a stolen car. The incident lasted just four minutes.

Pandolfino, who graduated as a doctor before moving into banking, was a “flamboyant, extravagant and larger than life” figure, his brother Joseph told the court when testifying earlier this month.

“Chris was extremely intelligent, a genius,” he recalled.

Maciejowski, 30, was a contemporary art dealer described by his mother as “wise beyond his years” and with a cheeky sense of humour.

The men accused of murdering them have now all been convicted.

Kristiansen pleaded guilty to murder charges last year and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Muka was found unanimously guilty of murder by a jury on Saturday, as well as theft aggravated by homicide.

Dragomanski was cleared of complicity in homicide but found guilty by a verdict of 6-3 of theft aggravated by homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Muka and Dragomanski will be formally sentenced at a later date.

Speaking outside the courtroom and flanked by members of both victims’ families, Joseph Pandolfino said the verdict was a relief.

“Justice has been served,” he said as he thanked everyone involved in the case.

“The police did a tremendous job,” he said, saying he was also appreciative of jurors who had spent 12 days reliving the brutal crime.

“It must have been very tough for them,” he said.