Inspector describes scene where woman was stabbed 47 times

A police inspector this morning described to a court how he had found a pool of blood where a 32-year-old woman was stabbed 47 times in her San Gwann apartment in May 2004.

Police Inspector Chris Pullicino was giving evidence at the opening of the trial by jury of David Norbert Schembri, 32 of Sliema, who stands charged with the murder of his former girlfriend Josette Scicluna, and with the illegal possession of weapon.

Inspector Pullicino said he had been called to a domestic incident and found that Ms Scicluna had been involved in a fight with her former boyfriend.

He said there was a pool of blood in the kitchen, a trail of blood in the hall, splatters on the walls of the apartment and bullet holes in the door.

The accused had told a policewoman that he had done something that he shouldn’t have done, and he had hurt Scicluna.

A neighbour had told the police that she heard heard gunshots. She rushed to the apartment, saw Mr Schembri stabbing Ms Scicluna and told him to stop. She then grabbed the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, who was in the apartment, and took her to her own home.

When the police spoke to the daughter, she said that she: “heard some big bangs and the door opened and I saw daddy with a gun”.

The police inspector said the police had breathalysed the accused but he had not breathed into the machine correctly. However he had a strong smell of alcohol.

Inspector Pullicino said that in a police statement, the accused said problems between him and his former girlfriend went back a long time.

When he forced open the door of her apartment, she came at him holding something in her hands. He did not recognise what she was holding, but he had told the police that he took it away from her, and instead of her hitting him, he hit her.

He also told the police said her father was always getting involved in their relationship. The accused also claimed that her father used to hit her for a number of years.

The accused said he used to feel sorry for her, and he loved her. She had left the family home because of problems with her father when she was 18 years old and they had been together for 11 years – living together on and off for some months.

His girlfriend , however, also used to be jealous and complained about his job, the accused had said.

On the day of the incident, Schembri had walked from College Street, Sliema, to San Gwann. He knocked on the door and heard his daughter ask who it was.

Then his former girlfriend said she was not going to open for him. He forced his way in and saw her coming at him holding something in her hand. He took it from her and she went for a chair.

The accused had told the police that all of a sudden he saw some blood and fled the scene because he knew what her father was capable of.

Police Inspector Mario Tonna told the court that five shots were fired at the door. He said the accused in his police statement had not replied to a number of questions during interrogation because he might incriminate himself.

A revolver and broken knife were found at the crime scene.

The inspector said the autopsy revealed 47 stab wounds. The victim died in hospital within 45 minutes

The accused went to the police station after the incident and asked a policewoman to protect him because he was afraid of the victim’s relatives.

Assistant Police Commissioner Emanuel Cassar said that when told that Ms Scicluna had died, the accused started crying and was in denial, thinking the police were bluffing.

Today’s proceedings followed another trial where a jury established that the accused David Schembri was in good mental health and could undergo the trial. The decision was confirmed by the Criminal Court of Appeal.