Man goes on trial for shooting his wife's lover dead 18 years ago

Updated 8.45pm

A  45-year-old man has gone on trial for allegedly shooting his wife's lover dead in his own home.

The murder took place in December 2008.

Father-of-four Stephen Caruana is accused of murdering Neville Baldacchino, 28, and using a firearm in an inhabited area. He denies the charges.

Jurors were empanelled on Tuesday morning.

According to the Bill of Indictment, Caruana and his wife initially had a normal married life but the wife eventually had a secret affair with Baldacchino.

Caruana became suspicious. Some weeks into the relationship he found his wife on the phone with Baldacchino.

Baldacchino went to Caruana's house several times. On December 18, 2008, he agreed to go to the house in Qormi once Caruana and the children were asleep.

When signalled by the woman, he took off his shoes,  quietly went inside and had sex with the woman in an upstairs bedroom while Caruana and their children were asleep downstairs.

The woman then went downstairs to make sure that Caruana was asleep so that she could signal Baldacchino to leave the house.

While she was next to her husband, who was a light sleeper, they heard a noise upstairs. Caruana grabbed a Benelli gun, loaded it and went upstairs. He found Baldacchino on the terrace and allegedly shot him in the head, hand and leg, killing him.

Victim found in pool of blood

Former police inspector Daniel Zammit took the witness stand on Monday afternoon, explaining that he arrived at the scene after being informed about a shooting on Triq id-Drama in Qormi. 

Caruana told the inspector he had heard a noise followed by footsteps from upstairs while in the bedroom with his wife, Romina, and their four children. He went to the garage took his gun, loaded it and went upstairs.

On the first floor terrace, he found a man who had something in his hand. The man, Baldacchino, allegedly told Caruana something which the latter did not understand. Caruana shot four times hitting Baldacchino in his head, hand and leg, and the wall.

He then returned downstairs placed the gun on the chest of drawers and informed his wife that he shot at a man. The accused called her father, Joe Gaffarena, informing him that he had shot a man. Gaffarena then went on site.

An officer was left with the accused and another with the gun. The four minor children were sent to their grandparents, and Romina Caruana’s relatives – her father and two of her siblings – were asked to leave.

A sergeant and Zammit went upstairs, where they found Baldacchino in a pool of blood on the terrace, without any shoes. The shoes were eventually found by the front door. He was holding a mobile phone in his hand.

Zammit called his superiors and the inquiring magistrate, who arrived at the scene together with forensics.

Prosecutor Shelby Aquilina asked the witness to describe the layout of the house, with Zammit explaining that there was a bedroom and a yard on the ground floor, and a staircase in the middle of the house which led upstairs where there was another bedroom on the front of the house and a terrace at the back which overlooked the yard.

The woman and her husband were sent to the Police Headquarters in separate police vehicles with officers who were not on the crime scene to avoid possible contamination of gunshot residue. At the headquarters, they were subjected to a swab.

Zammit remained at the scene, and they found that the upstairs bedroom had been used and found some tissues, which were collected by the forensics.

The witness recalled that the relatives who had been at the scene were asked to report to the police headquarters to give their version of events.

Zammit added that Caruana repeated the same version of the incident at the Police Headquarters. The investigating officers also asked the suspect whether his relationship with Romina was good, as the officers began to suspect that she had an affair with the victim. Caruana described their relationship as “normal”.

As he was about to testify about Romina Caruana’s statement to the police, Zammit only managed to say that she was initially “hesitant” before defence lawyer Charles Mercieca raised a point of law objecting to the witness making reference to declarations by the accused’s wife arguing it is inadmissible.

Mercieca made a request to prohibit any testimonies on information that resulted from Romina Caruana’s declaration, to which prosecutor Francesco Refalo objected saying that this should have been raised during the pre-trial stage and not now.

The sitting was briefly suspended for the court to rule on the matter.

When the trial resumed, the court rejected the request.

Wife told police about affair

Zammit continued to testify that initially Romina Caruana was hesitant, then told the police she had an affair with Baldacchino some weeks before the murder.

The couple had agreed to meet on December 18 at her house. The woman was to leave the front door ajar and Baldacchino would leave his shoes outside and meet her upstairs in the bedroom, when she signalled him.

The pair met and afterwards, the woman went downstairs to feed her toddler. A noise woke up Caruana who was a light sleeper. The man heard footsteps and went upstairs and shot the man dead.

The police confirmed that there was an affair between the woman and the victim.

Defence lawyer Giannella De Marco cross examined the witness.

The lawyer suggested that Caruana was in a state of shock when Zammit arrived at the scene, but the former investigator could not recall saying that a lot of years had passed.

However, he confirmed that the accused was consistent in his versions and cooperated fully with the police, adding that Caruana gave his version spontaneously to the police. The lawyer reminded that at the time the law did not provide for a suspect to speak with their lawyer or be legally assisted during the interrogation.

De Marco then read out from Caruana’s statement to the police, from which it transpired that Caruana had told the police that he had heard the metal door leading to the terrace slam before going for his shotgun and going upstairs.

Caruana had also told the police that while the victim was not violent, he did not give him time to react and shot him dead.

The accused had insisted with the police that while Baldacchino did indeed tell him something, he did not understand.

Each member of the jury was given a tablet to access the documents presented to the court.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera is presiding over the trial. AG lawyers Francesco Refalo and Shelby Aquilina prosecuted. Lawyers Giannella De Marco and Charles Mercieca assisted the accused. Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo appeared for the victim's relatives.