Family of murder victim awarded €350,000 in compensation

The wife and daughter of marine biologist Albert Brian Rosso, who disappeared 20 years ago, have been awarded €350,000 after a court found that his right to life had been breached by the state.

Judgment was delivered on Monday at the end of a case instituted by Mary Rose Rosso and her daughter Desire before the First Hall of the Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction. 

They sued the state advocate, the attorney general and the police commissioner, arguing that the authorities failed to carry out an effective and expedited investigation, and their failings led to the acquittal of two men who stood trial by jury in June 2023.

Rosso, who was a medical technician, was reported missing by his wife on October 10, 2005. He was last seen reporting for work at the San Luċjan Aquaculture Centre, later heading out to meet his business partner.

Thirteen days later the police arrested fishermen Anthony Bugeja and Piero di Bartolo, who were subsequently arraigned and accused of his murder and hiding his body. Both pleaded not guilty.

The men had released several statements to police, some without having been cautioned and informed about their right to silence. In them, they confessed to killing Rosso on October 10, 2005, inside Bugeja’s garage and disposing of his body in the sea. They also abandoned Rosso’s van close to Bugeja’s residence and threw away the keys at Qajjenza.

Rosso’s body was never found.

The two were put on trial but in June 2022, the Court of Criminal Appeal upheld their preliminary plea, declaring their statements and declarations as inadmissible evidence. 

Bugeja and Di Bartolo were later cleared of the murder.

In their application, the mother and daughter observed that during the trial by jury, it emerged that the corpse was not found since it was dumped in an area where construction debris was illegally dumped at sea. Despite the search for the victim in the area, the illegal dumping was not halted by the authorities, resulting in the fact that the corpse was never found.

It was also highlighted that Rosso’s death certificate was never issued and the accused had used this fact to argue that there was no proof that Rosso had died and, therefore, no evidence of his murder.

They complained that the acquittal resulted from the delays and other shortcomings in the investigation.

The mother and daughter noted that the investigation and prosecution of the two fishermen lasted 18 years after the murder. The time taken to investigate not only undermined the prosecution but also compromised the investigation itself in arriving to a conclusion on who was responsible for Rosso’s death.

They also complained about serious shortcomings by the prosecution, including the court decision of expunging the statements, saying that this was attributable solely to the state for having failed to introduce the right to legal assistance during questioning. 

Mr Justice Toni Abela presided over the court. Lawyers Eve Borg Costanzi, Matthew Cutajar, Stefano Filletti and Nicole Galea assisted the plaintiffs. Lawyer Maurizio Cordina, Carina Bugeja Testa and Nicole Fenech Cutajar represented the State Advocate.