Three men accused of murdering Joseff Rivas last December in a knife fight allegedly triggered by a row over prostitution wanted to get tickets to fly out of Malta soon after the incident. 

They first instructed one of their former girlfriends to buy suitcases and then asked her to book them airline tickets so as to leave the island as soon as possible, sending her urgent messages even while she was being questioned by investigators. 

Details about the trio’s apparent plans were divulged in court on Thursday by a police officer who was testifying in ongoing proceedings against Ilie Constantin, 31, and his cousins Ionut Iulian Tanase, 35, and Dan-Andrew Tanase, 32, Romanian nationals who are pleading not guilty to murder. 

Rivas was stabbed outside a Paceville cafeteria on Ross Street, corner with St George’s Road, on the afternoon of December 5 last year. 

Police at St Julian’s station were alerted to the violent incident at around 3.30pm, testified Inspector Brian Xuereb. 

Seated outside a pastizzeria near the cafeteria, police found a man covered in blood, with lots of visible cuts.

He was not responsive but was still alive when the police got there.

The suspected victim could not speak but a document found in his possession indicated that he was a British national, born in 1978.

His nationality was subsequently confirmed by the British Embassy, Xuereb said. 

Argument escalates into fight

The wounded man was rushed to hospital by ambulance while police investigations as well as a magisterial inquiry got underway, with forensic experts gathering evidence from the crime scene. 

Later that evening, the inspector was told that Rivas had been certified dead at 5.20pm. 

Information gathered from the scene indicated that the victim and two other men had approached three men who were drinking at the cafeteria.

An argument broke out and escalated into a fight between the two groups who moved towards a nearby roundabout.

A signpost, a chair and a knife or two were used in the fight.

Then suddenly, the three suspects ran away along St George’s Road in the direction of Paceville, as Rivas stood up and made his way to the pastizzeria where he sank down into a seated position. 

Police were pointed towards a block, some metres away from the crime scene, where the suspects had an apartment that was used by female prostitutes. 

Knocking at the apartment door, police were met by a woman who explained that she was a former girlfriend of one of the suspected aggressors.

She said that the men had contacted her on her mobile, asking for help in buying flight tickets and suitcases. 

Former girlfriend asked to help men get out of Malta

As she sat on her bed talking to the officers, the suspects texted her, pressuring her to speed up matters to that they could leave Malta. 

The inspector had immediately alerted airport and police authorities. 

Hours after the incident, three men turned up at St Julian’s police station explaining that they were the ones involved in the fight.

On December 6 at around 9pm, one of the men, Ionut Tanase, accompanied five police officers to the apartment in St George’s Road where the trio first sought refuge after the brawl. 

Ionut applied a pin code to open the common entrance door. 

Stepping inside, the police immediately spotted droplets of blood on the floor.

They were led to an apartment on the first floor where Ionut once again opened the door by means of another pin code. 

There were blood stains all over the place, recalled Inspector Wayne Camilleri who also testified on Thursday. 

Inside the kitchen, a paper towel roll was blood stained.

A grey hoodie, worn by Ionut at the time of the fight, was picked out of a bin after being pointed out by Ionut himself. 

“It was still wet, as though it had been washed and dumped in there right afterwards,” explained Camilleri.

Ionut had told police how the three had rushed to that flat where their girlfriends lived immediately after the violent incident. 

The women had promptly decided to pack their stuff and head out of Malta to avoid trouble after being told about what had happened. 

In fact, the flat was empty when the police arrived there. 

The suspects had caught a cab and headed to another apartment in Swieqi, Ionut told police. 

Knife not found

That was where he allegedly disposed of his knife, throwing it into an inner shaft.

But when the police got there, the weapon was not found. 

However, there were drops of blood in the common hallway and all over the flat where Ionut led investigators.

Wall switches were also smeared with blood. 

Investigators later gathered footage from CCTV cameras placed at the common entrance to the block as well as overlooking the stairs and door to the apartment. 

The case, presided over by Magistrate Nadine Lia, continues in May. 

Inspector Kurt Zahra is prosecuting, together with AG lawyers Kaylie Bonett and Darlene Grima. Lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi, Charmaine Cherrett and Jacob Magri are defence counsel.