Jurors visit site of Sliema double murder

A panel of jurors visited the house where two men were killed in August 2020 on Wednesday morning.

The visit took place as part of the trial by jury of Daniel Muka, 30, and Viktor Dragomanski. The men are facing charges linked to their alleged involvement in the murder of Christian Pandolfino, 58, and Ivor Maciejowski, 30, who were shot dead in their Sliema house in Locker Street on August 18, 2020. They are pleading not guilty.

A third man, Jesper Kristiansen, was jailed for 40 years last year after admitting his guilt as part of a plea-bargaining deal.

On Wednesday morning, both Muka and Dragomanski attended the site visit, although Muka remained in a police van throughout.

Muka's unruly behaviour throughout the trial so far has seen him frequently escorted out of the courtroom to follow proceedings remotely from a nearby room.

The visit was a high-security operation with a heavy police presence on site.

Relatives of Ivor Maciejowski, one of the victims. Photo: Jonathan Borg

On Tuesday afternoon, police inspector Colin Sheldon testified before the jurors giving an overview of the investigation which led to the arrests of the three men. From his testimony it emerged that two individuals living on Locker Street called the police after they heard a commotion and suspected gunshots.

The men were seen entering the house and exiting before getting into a white Volkswagen Tiguan.

When the investigators traced the car, it had a set of different number plates than the one used in the burglary during which the two men were killed.

Inside the vehicle they found gold, a wig, surgical masks and gloves, as well as the number plates used on the day of the murder.

The vehicle had been reported stolen in September 2018. The number plates used on the night of the murder had been reported stolen on August 3, while the number plates found on the vehicle when the police located it had been stolen from a car owned by Brian Cutajar, a car dealer. 

From the CCTV footage it also emerged that after parking the car, the suspects walked down to the Junior College bus stop, where Kristiansen entered a coffee shop and called a cab to take them to Carmel Street in Sliema. 

Muka was the first to be arrested in Floriana, Sheldon explained on Tuesday afternoon. The police found a 9mm firearm and gold belonging to Pandolfino at his residence during the searches. The investigators established that the weapon was the one used in the murder. In his statement to the police he mentioned both Dragomanski and Kristiansen.

Dragomanski was arrested in Gżira after trying to flee the hotel at which he was staying. He confessed to some involvement in the crime, Sheldon told the jurors, adding that he mentioned both Muka and Kristiansen.

The last to be arrested was Kristiansen, who was also living in Sliema at the time. The police found his girlfriend, who informed them that he had left the islands. He was eventually arraigned in court in November 2020.