A man accused of murdering his son was fully aware of his actions and is fit to stand trial, according to a court-appointed psychiatrist.
Salvu Dalli, 68, stands accused of shooting his son Antoine, 37, in cold blood on August 7 at his Għaxaq home. Antoine was found dead in the shower, having suffered a single shot in the stomach.
Psychiatrist George Debono told Magistrate Marseanne Farrugia that although he was not with the accused at the time of the shooting, from his experience and from what he told him during the examination, he could conclude that Dalli was in his right senses at the time of the commission of the crime.
Debono said that Dalli has been receiving treatment for depression and anxiety, probably owing to the difficult relationship he had with one of his sons.
In previous sittings, the court heard how the father had filed several reports to the police claiming he was assaulted and threatened by his son and he even mentioned this to the psychiatrist.
“How his mental state was at that particular moment is difficult to say but from how he recounted the event, he was not crazy. He was lucid. He told me he was in bed when he heard his son kick in the front door and heard him running up the stairs saying “I will kill you”. He was scared. He told me he never wanted to kill him after caring for him and his other two children for all their lives but he feared for his life,” Debono told the court.
He said he asked him why he had not used the shotgun to scare his son off without loading it. To this Dalli told him he did not do that because his son would have noticed there was no cartridge inside the gun.
When asked explicitly by the court, Debono said that Dalli was fit to stand trial.
“He knew what he was doing and knew the consequences of his actions.”
Despite objections from the prosecution and the parte civile lawyers, the court upheld a defence request for the court to appoint a doctor to examine their client physically, to check on his physical strength and lack of mobility. Dalli walks with the use of a walking stick.
At the end of the sitting, the court ruled that there was enough evidence for Dalli to be indicted.
The case continues in October.
Police Inspector Roderick Attard led the prosecution. Lawyers Lennox Vella and Marisa Mifsud appeared for the accused. Lawyers Franco Debono, Francesca Zarb and Kathleen Calleja Grima appeared parte civile for the victim’s family.