Man charged with murder, four attempted murders

A 33-year-old man from Cospicua was yesterday charged with murder, with trying to kill a mother and her three minor sons and with seriously injuring another person.

Ronnie Azzopardi was accused of killing Angela Bondin by means of a bomb at Zejtun on June 18.

He was further charged with trying to kill Mary Rose Cassar and her sons Jesmar, 7, Jean Leon, 4, and 20-month old Kevin.

Mr Azzopardi was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to Therese Grima, with causing damage to the property of Antoine Grima and to Alexander Grech's van.

He was finally charged with having and carrying explosives and with relapsing.

Defence counsel Joseph Giglio said he wanted the court to note that over the past seven weeks his client had been arrested and re-arrested several times, sometimes within a few hours after his release.

Police Inspectors Charles Bartolo and Christopher Pullicino, who prosecuted, said the arrests were made each time the police had fresh information about the case. This had happened about three times.

Dr Giglio insisted his client had been arrested seven or eight times and the police reserved the right to summon witnesses to back up their claims at a later stage.

The defence requested bail but the prosecution opposed arguing that the case was a very serious one, involving the use of a bomb and the attempted murder of minors. Evidence could be tampered with, they argued. Furthermore, the accused could not be trusted as he had indicated his desire to leave the country.

Dr Giglio said desires people expressed in certain situations could not be taken at face value as one often articulated wishes out of frustration not because one actually meant what he said.

The court could provide guarantees by ordering house arrest and the seizure of passports and other documents to ensure one did not abscond, the lawyer argued.

The accused sat composed and concerned in the dock but managed a smile on hearing his defence lawyer put across his arguments for bail.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Anthony Vella, turned down the request.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Cedric Mifsud informed the court they were appearing in parte civile for Ms Cassar and her children.