The police had no grounds to arrest Nicolette Ghirxi’s ex partner but could have called him in for questioning after she told them she was "worried" by his return to Malta, a police complaints inquiry board has said. 

In its report released on Wednesday, the PCB revealed an email that Ghirxi sent officers 72 hours before her murder at the hands of Edward Johnston on August 11.

“Today I was scrolling on Tinder, and I see him there only 3km away. This means he is in Malta, and I’m worried,” she told police on August 8.

The PCB was tasked with looking into the police and its handling of the investigations leading up to the murder.

Edward Johnston 'arrogantly' informed the police that he was abroad in Dubai but when he returned to Malta 'was not summoned for questioning'. File Photo

It established that between August 8, when Ghirxi informed the police that Johnston was in Malta, and August 11, when she was killed, “it seems that no further action was taken by the inspector, and no other contact was made with the police by Ghirxi.”

And yet the PCB absolved the police because “the inspector stated that during that weekend, he was occupied with human trafficking work, and since the Ghirxi case was deemed low-risk, he had not yet developed the information he needed.”

The board says “it does not appear that the police failed to take measures within the scope of their powers that, when judged reasonably, could have been expected to avoid that risk.”

While noting that “the police and Appoġġ should tackle cases of harassment with more urgency”, it also cautions about the underestimation of danger by the victims “as it tends to dampen the vigilance and urgency with which the authorities react.”

The conclusions of the Police Board’s findings were published by the home affairs ministry on Wednesday morning and, it says, are based “on the evidence heard”. 

Nicolette Ghirxi was murdered by her former partner Edward Johnston late at night on August 11. Her body was found in her apartment in Swatar hours after the murder.  Johnston was shot by the police after a three-hour standoff in St Julian’s on August 12 at 3am.

The PCB's findings, as presented in the report, confirm Times of Malta reports that Ghirxi had filed a report with the police April 22, detailing harassment she was facing.

It says that the police had offered Ghirxi the opportunity to undergo a risk assessment, which she declined, citing her belief that she was not in danger at the time.

In late August Times of Malta published the transcript of a voice note sent by Ghirxi to her friends on 22 April that showed how she had agreed to take a risk assessment for domestic violence but told a friend and her lawyer that she was “talked out of it” by professionals when she attended her evaluation.

FSWS had denied its Aġenzija Appoġġ professionals had discouraged her from taking a risk assessment and published affidavits and the names of the two risk assessors present on the day Ghirxi filed a report.

After the voice note was published, Nicolette Ghirxi’s family called for a wider inquiry to establish if their relative had been failed by the state.

The PCB inquiry was set up in the wake of Ghirxi’s murder to scrutinise the implementation of the recommendations that emerged from the Joint Magisterial Inquiry between the justice and home affairs ministries in relation to the murder of Bernice Cassar.  

It also analysed the operations of the Police Force related to domestic violence and gender-based violence, as well as the enforcement of relevant laws and existing standard operating procedures.

Johnston mocked the police

Led by Judge Geoffrey Valenzia and with Natalino Attard and Paul Sammut as members, the inquiry found that despite Ghirxi initially feeling she was not at risk, the police continued with their investigations. 

On the day after she filed her report, Ghirxi was offered services and assistance, “but she declined, stating that she was being followed by other professionals.”

The PCB quotes the police inspector who reviewed the emails Ghirxi had been receiving from Johnston and which contained “hot air” (“balla paroli vojt”) but no threats.  “They contained insults and harassment,” it said.

PCB established that the police contacted Edward Johnston to speak with him, but he arrogantly informed them that he could not come as he was abroad in Dubai. 

As reported by Times of Malta a couple of days after Ghirxi was murdered, Johnston had mocked the police when police summoned him for questioning last April, telling them he was abroad to “top up my tan" in Dubai and challenging them to “notify Interpol” if they wanted to speak to him.

The PCB also established that Ghirxi had informed the police that Johnston was out of Malta, so the inspector requested his location from Epic on the 29th of April, and on the 16th of May, Epic informed the police based on the roaming data of his mobile, Johnston appeared to be in Ireland.

While Ghirxi was asked to alert the police if the threats escalated, Johnston was placed on the wanted list and on the police system.

Johnston was placed on the wanted list. File Photo

On July 28, the police inspector made formal requests to the AG’s office regarding this case of harassment and stalking which were duly sent to the Irish authorities by August 8.

'Worried' but not scared

On that same day Ghirxi informed the police via email about Johnston’s presence in Malta.

“Today I was scrolling on Tinder, and I see him there only 3km away. This means he is in Malta, and I’m worried.”

In its considerations the PCB said that until August 8, when Johnston re-appeared in Malta, the police could not have done more than they did, as he seemed to be abroad, and Ghirxi had stopped receiving emails from him.

“When the [police] received the information from Ghirxi on the 8th of August that Johnston had returned to Malta, [the police] at this stage had no grounds to arrest Johnston. The only thing [they] could have done was summon him for questioning.”

The PCB also said that Ghirxi had mentioned “being worried” but not scared. It said that the inspector had no information to suggest there was any imminent threat or physical violence since at that time, there was no indication of a real and immediate risk.”

The PCB says it reviewed the emails and message sent by Johnston to Ghirxi and it agrees with the police inspector's assessment that these contained “mere words, insults and harassment.”

Nicolette Ghirxi's lawyer Joseph Borda has publicly expressed concerns over how the PCB handled the inquiry, questioning what evidence it based itself on and why everything was done behind closed doors.

In a detailed Facebook post, Borda questioned why certain actions were not taken, particularly regarding the arrest of a man who was placed on the wanted list but still managed to enter Malta undetected. 

He highlighted discrepancies, such as conflicting statements from police inspectors and evidence of inaction between key dates. Borda also pointed out to evidence which shows that Nicolette Ghirxi did not refuse to do the risk assessement.