Judges reduce murderer's jail term by 13 years

A 41-year-old man who had been jailed for 35 years after jurors found him guilty of the murder of his 82-year-old neighbour seven years ago yesterday had his jail term reduced to 22 years on appeal.

Three years ago Mario Pollacco had been found guilty of strangling Rose Mary Schembri and robbing her of more than Lm1,000 in cash and precious stones in her Msida home on June 3, 1998.

After evaluating the case, Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, Mr Justice David Scicluna and Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, sitting in the Court of Criminal Appeal, ruled that jurors should not have found Mr Pollacco guilty of aggravated theft as it had not been sufficiently proven. If anything, they could have found him guilty of attempted theft.

The bill of indictment against Mr Pollacco had recounted how the accused had gone to Ms Schembri's house, in Monsignor Dandria Street, Msida, with the intent to rob her.

People knew Ms Schembri as being a woman who did not like spending money, she used to economise on everything to the extent that she did not have electricity at home. Ms Schembri kept her pension money hidden at home, where she also had many religious statues and precious stones.

Mr Pollacco lived in the vicinity and had been to her home before on the pretext of speaking to her or helping her. On the day of the incident he managed to get into her house by taking advantage of the trust she had in him and of the fact that she lived on her own.

After the elderly woman allowed Mr Pollacco in and closed the door behind him, he forced her to tell him where she kept the money. She resisted and a struggle ensued.

During the struggle Mr Pollacco grabbed one or more hard objects and beat the old woman on her head. As Ms Schembri struggled to ward off her assailant, she injured his arm and even bit him.

When he realised this, Mr Pollacco decided to strangle the woman to avoid being caught. He left her lifeless body lying face up on the floor.

Lawyers Michael Sciriha and Philip Galea Farrugia appeared for Mr Pollacco.