Jurors to decide on murder suspect's insanity plea

A panel of jurors is set to decide whether a 41-year-old man, who stands accused of murdering another man, was legally insane at the time of the offence.

Noel Azzopardi, a Rabat resident, is accused of murdering Eric Borg on January 1, 2024. Borg was shot dead on Triq il-Fidloqqom in Rabat.

Azzopardi turned himself in at the Rabat police station shortly after the shooting. He is pleading not guilty to wilful homicide, using a firearm to commit a crime, firing a gun within 200 metres of an urban area and not ensuring that his gun and ammunition were kept in a secure place inside his home. 

On Monday, jurors were empanelled to decide on an insanity plea, in what is known as a ġurin. In such trials, jurors are not called to decide on the accused’s guilt or innocence, but instead they are tasked with deciding whether Azzopardi was insane at the time of the murder. If the insanity ruling is struck down, Azzopardi will then be deemed fit to stand trial for murder.

In September 2024, psychiatrists appointed by the court during the compilation of evidence concluded that Azzopardi was incapable of the criminal intent required to be found guilty, due to serious mental illness and intellectual difficulties. Those findings were contested by the Attorney General, hence the need for the ġurin.

Investigators seen at Rabat following the New Year's Day 2024 murder.

Mr Justice Neville Camilleri presided over the Criminal Court. AG lawyers Kevin Valletta and Kylie Bonett prosecuted. Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Nicole Vassallo are assisting the accused. Lawyer Joe Giglio represented the victim's family.