The mother of murder victim Brandon Pace told a court on Friday how she witnessed her 21-year-old son being stabbed in the back outside her Ħamrun residence, causing him to fall and die.

She also tearfully recalled her son’s final words:

“He looked at me and [his partner] Jessica, said ‘I love you’ and that was that - he died.”

She was testifying in the murder trial in which Kurt Grech, 31, known as in-Nemes, and his father, Joseph Grech, 61, both from Pieta, are accused of murdering 21-year-old Brandon Pace in Ħamrun.

The two are charged with wilful homicide, unlawful possession of knives, breaching public peace and good order, and threatening the victim’s mother, Lisa Pace, and his partner, Jessica Bilocca.

Bilocca had a son from Kurt Grech, who is also charged with grievously injuring Bilocca with a knife.

Kurt Grech's father, Joseph, is also charged with having threatened the victim’s sister, Donna Pace, with a knife during the fight.

Both are pleading not guilty.

From a rowdy phone call to a bloody fight

Testifying in front of Madame Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, Lisa Pace recounted the events that happened on April 2, 2017, which led to her son’s death in Giovanni Barbara Street, Ħamrun.

She said she ate with Brandon, Jessica and Jessica’s son. Brandon left the kitchen to go and have a shower.

Jessica then had a heated phone call with Kurt’s mother, and she recalled the two of them shouting and insulting each other over the phone. Jessica made another phone call, this time on Lisa’s mobile, and the shouting and arguing continued.

At some point, she heard loud car brakes outside the flat.  She went onto her balcony to see what was going on, and saw two cars parked outside the flat, and Kurt and his parents standing outside.

She said they began to provoke her and Jessica and even began to insult her about her past struggles with drug abuse.

“I did not want my son to see this, and I went outside and told Jessica to not let Brandon see all this,” she said.

She said when she stepped outside, she came face to face with Joseph. She noticed Kurt had two knives. She said that at that point, Joseph was unarmed.

“Joseph tried to push me aside, and I saw Brandon come down from the flat,” she said.

Brandon was in a pair of swimming trunks and carrying a knife. She described him as angry and shouting at Kurt and Joseph.

‘Let him die’

Donna Pace, Brandon’s sister, arrived in her car when the argument broke out. Lisa said she remembered Donna trying to speak and stop Brandon, yet she was pushed aside.

Lisa said she remembered seeing Kurt and Brandon fighting, and Kurt ending up on top of him on the floor. The next thing she knew, her son was covered in blood.

“He got up and could barely walk, he walked a bit and leaned against the wall,” she recalled.

Then, she said she heard footsteps and saw Joseph stab Brandon in the back, and her son fell to the ground.

“I screamed ‘They killed him, they killed him!’ and Joseph replied ‘Let him die’.”

She said she had an “ugly past”, but that was in the past and she was better now. At that point, the defence asked the court to suspend Lisa’s testimony. Lisa and the jury were asked to leave the room.

Defence asked if mother was on drugs

The defence told the court that they believed the witness was under the influence of drugs, and found her last comment misleading. They informed the court they intended to ask her when she last took drugs and if she would be willing to take a drug test.

Prosecuting lawyer Kaylie Bonett said the defence was trying to smear the witness.

Once the mother and the jury returned to the court, the defence’s cross-examination began.

Lawyer Katheleen Grima asked Pace if Brandon stabbed Kurt first, to which she confirmed.

Grima also asked if Brandon had an ongoing court case, which she also confirmed.

Grima also quoted Pace's previous testimonies, trying to point out differences.

“I was under great shock when the accident happened,” she replied.

“My mind was on what was happening to my son,” she said when asked what had happened to Kurt after Brandon was stabbed.

At the end of the cross-examination, Grima asked her if she was still taking drugs, to which she said she did not want to reply.

“Before you came here, did you take any drugs,” Grima asked.

“No,” Pace replied.

“And when was the last time you took drugs,” Grima asked. Pace chose to not reply.

Prievously in Friday's sitting, court experts Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta and Sarfraz Ali said an autopsy indicated Brandon Pace died as the result of multiple stab wounds. He had some 16 wounds on his body of different sizes and depths.

They were on his chest, shoulders, side, thighs and back. The fatal blows were the ones to the chest and back.

Forensic expert Mario Scerri said that Kurt Grech had a stab wound in the chest that was deep and could have hit his kidney.

Lawyers Roberto Montalto, Katheleen Grima and Edward Gatt are defence counsel while lawyers Rachel Tua and Ishmael Psaila are representing the victim’s family. Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Kaylie Bonett, from the Attorney General’s office, are prosecuting.

The case continues on Saturday morning.