Defence counsel in the murder trial of two men insisted on Tuesday that the accused never intended to kill anyone and had only carried knives for self-defence.
Kurt Grech, 31, and his father Joseph, 61, both from Pieta, are pleading not guilty to the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Brandon Pace on April 2, 2017 in Giovanni Barbara Street, Hamrun.
They deny wilful homicide, unlawful possession of knives, breaching public order and threatening the victim’s mother, Lisa Pace, and partner Jessica Bilocca. Bilocca had a son from Kurt Grech. He alone was further charged with grievously injuring Bilocca by means of a knife. The father is also charged with having threatened the victim's sister, Donna Pace, with a knife during the fight.
Lawyer Edward Gatt, appearing for the accused, said that when Kurt Grech grabbed two knives from his home before heading to Hamrun, he did so because he knew that Pace was dangerous. Kurt Grech went to Hamrun to safeguard the wellbeing of his young son.
What the prosecution is claiming
The prosecution is claiming that Pace was at his home with his girlfriend, Jessica Bilocca when Kurt Grech arrived and started insulting Bilocca, who had earlier called his mother and insulted her over an issue involving their son.
Pace confronted Kurt Grech while the latter's parents arrived in a car.
A fight ensued involving Bilocca, Pace, Kurt Grech and his parents. At one point witnesses said they saw Pace fall to the ground and Kurt jump on him – they both had knives.
During the fight, Kurt said he accidentally hit Bilocca.
Defence arguments
Gatt called on jurors in the trial, presided by Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, to truly put themselves in the shoes of his clients.
He stressed that for a crime to be proven to the level required by law – beyond reasonable doubt – there had to be two elements: the action and the intent.
“To believe there was voluntary homicide in this case, you have to determine if the intention of Kurt was to murder,” he said as he asked them to question if Kurt Grech was in control of his actions at that moment.
He painted a scenario of a man who was desperate to protect his young son from the bad influence he was being exposed to.
On the day of the incident, he added, Bilocca had insulted his mother to tears. Kurt Grech went to Hamrun distraught and “mentally exhausted”. He took the knives because he knew that Brandon Pace “would not hold back” and he might need to defend himself.
“Set aside any prejudice you might have and put yourselves in the tragic situation that the accused found themselves in… It’s easy to say Kurt should not have gone there, but that’s not the way people work… The tragedy in this case is that the zeal for his son got him into all this. He went to defend his son… We have a situation where the one who never had issues with justice had to face Brandon Pace, who had repeatedly had issues with the law. We are here to look at the realities of life.”
Gatt is representing the accused with lawyers Roberto Montalto and Kathleen Grima while lawyers Rachel Tua and Ishmael Psaila are representing the victim’s family. Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Kaylie Bonett, from the Attorney General’s office, are prosecuting.