Woman convicted of fatally stabbing her partner
The murder took place in July 2021
Updated 3.37pm
A 48-year-old Filippino woman was convicted on Monday of murdering her partner and filing a false report to the police.
The verdict was delivered after just over an hour of deliberation by a jury.
The trial started last week. Jurors convicted Mayumi Santos Patacsil 9-0 of murder and 7-2 of filing a false report.
Marcelino Montalban Saraza was stabbed to death at his residence in Mellieħa on the night between July 1 and 2, 2021.
He suffered a stab wound on the lower right side of his chest and prosecutors said Patacsil also tried to cut his throat, making a deep incision in his neck. A post-mortem examination showed the wound was made after he was stabbed to death.
Patacsil has been under arrest since her arraignment in 2021.
During the week-long trial, she took the stand and said she could not recall how Saraza died, but insisted she had acted in “self-defence” after enduring four years of physical abuse.
Sentencing is due after submissions on punishment on Thursday.
Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera is presiding over the Criminal Court.
AG lawyers Etienne Savona, Kaylie Bonett and Michael Muscat are prosecuting.
Legal aid lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace is assisting the accused.