A girl who "miraculously" survived a vicious attack by her mother's ex-partner was stabbed in the heart and lost up to 40 per cent of her blood, doctors testified on Friday. 

The court heard how the mother was in a three-year relationship with the accused, Nazzareno Dalli, and how he refused to accept the fact that she wanted to break up. 

Dalli, known as Ronald, had spent the evening before the alleged accident out with friends and family members drinking and taking drugs, the court heard.

During a police interrogation, he said how after taking a particular substance in his drink he “did not remember what happened next”. 

Dalli, 43, is charged with attempted murder of his ex partner's daughters, who are 12 and 15 years old, in their home in Triq San Tumas in Marsa on March 9. 

He is also charged with attacking the girls, causing them grievous bodily harm, and holding them against their will. He is also accused of carrying a sharp and pointed object without a licence, drug possession, illegally working as a private guard, and recidivism. 

Dalli is pleading not guilty. 

The compilation of evidence against Dalli began on Friday, with the court hearing from parties involved in the investigation.

The mother told the court that around noon on March 9, she left home to go shopping. 

“One child was playing Playstation on the bed, the other I left sleeping, and the other was playing on the phone,” she said.

'She was covered in blood - I didn't recognise her'

She recalled the shock when she returned home to see her son out in the street with blood on him. Police were stationed outside her home, and did not let her enter the building. 

“I was in a big shock. They told me that my daughter lost a lot of blood, and I was crying... when they brought her out. She was covered in blood and I didn’t recognise her,” she said. 

She recalls seeing her other daughter on the roof and was worried she was going to jump.

After accompanying her daughters in an ambulance to Mater Dei Hospital, she spent a restless night “crying and panicking”.

Medical staff told her it was a “miracle” her daughter survived. 

“My daughter is covered with cuts… her back, her leg… it’s scary to look at her,” she recounted in tears. 

She said she never gave Dalli a key and suspected that he somehow managed to make a copy.

'You can leave prison, but not the grave'

When asked about Dalli's motive, she said she wanted to end the relationship. 

She told the accused they should end their three-year relationship as they were not getting along, but he refused to accept. She had also spent a week in a domestic shelter. 

One evening he went outside her home and he was banging on the main door. She told him she could call the police if he refused to leave.

When the mother mentioned a previous court case after Dalli had threatened her and her daughter, the defence team interrupted and said he had been acquitted. 

When defence lawyer Mario Mifsud went to cross-examine the mother, she interrupted him and repeated what Dalli had once told her: "Mill-ħabs toħroġ, imma mil-qabar ma' tqumx" (One can leave prison, but not the grave). 

She also addressed Mifsud by name and said he should know what she is experiencing, as he is also a father.

Police testifying said they found a 30cm knife next to the entrance of the Marsa house where the girls were stabbed on 9 March. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Stab wounds in the heart, lungs and broken rib

Mater Dei emergency doctors Josef Mifsud and Fatma Kablan, who treated the two girls, also testified on Friday. 

Mifsud went into detail about the critical conditions of the 12-year-old girl, who suffered from 16 stab wounds. 

He said the young girl was in a state of confusion and had lost around 30 per cent to 40 per cent of her blood. Emergency doctors administered three bags of blood to the patient.

Once she was treated in the emergency department, a CT scan was carried out and established internal bleeding in her stomach. 

The girl's heart and lungs were penetrated, and parts of her spleen and liver were torn. There were also puncture wounds in her left kidney and pancreas as well as broken ribs on the left side. 

The girl had to be intubated to keep her breathing.

Accused consumed alcohol, drugs the night before stabbing

Police inspector Ian Vella told the court that the accused said he could not believe what had happened to the girls, claiming he loved them as though they were his daughters. 

“He was perplexed, and could not understand what happened,” Vella said.

During the interrogation, Dalli confirmed he was working as a security guard at a bar in Marsascala. He told police how after completing his duties at around 4am, he stayed at the bar with his sister and two Serbian nationals,  drinking and taking drugs. 

Afterwards, they went to the Red Stars bar in Żejtun, where they continued to drink and take more drugs. 

Dalli told the police how one of the Serbians had sold him another substance, which was put into his glass. He drank it, went to the bathroom and said he could not recall what happened after that.

When asked to clarify what drugs had been taken, Vella said Dalli said he had taken cocaine. The other substance was not named.

Vella said that pictures posted on social media showed Dalli’s presence at both bars.

“The pictures also show the 30cm knife tucked in Dalli’s belt,” Vella said.

He said the pictures were captioned with the word “revenge”. 

Knife found covered in blood

A police officer went into detail about how when they arrived at the scene, they saw a young boy outside the house wearing shorts and a vest and no shoes. 

“He was worried and in a state of panic,” he said, adding how the young boy said Dalli had stabbed his family. 

The police entered the Marsa home, and saw the 30cm knife behind the entrance door, with the handle wrapped in a cloth and the blade covered in blood.

Officer Damion Galea said he heard cries from upstairs, and when he went up the blood-stained stairs, he saw a young girl on the floor bleeding. When he lifted her shirt to see where the blood was coming from, he saw many wounds on her belly, arms, and back. 

He called for an ambulance and tried to stop the bleeding, but it was very difficult. The girl had trouble breathing and she was close to being unconscious.

Officer Ramona Magro said while her colleague stayed with the younger girl, she went up to the roof, as she was informed there was another victim on the washroom roof.

“When I asked her if she was injured, she showed me her hand, which was covered in blood and cuts,” Magro testified.

“The bone was showing in one of the cuts,” she said, her voice shaking. 

Attorney General lawyers Etienne Savona and Manuel Grech led the prosecution, together with Police Inspectors Ian Vella and Wayne Camilleri. 

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Nicholas Mifsud, Mario Mifsud, Jacob Magri, and Franco Debono appeared for Dalli. 

The next sitting will take place next month.