Corpse of old man spotted in Marsa

The first recorded murder in Malta in the 19th century with the victim being found at sea was that of Wenzu Bonanno, whose corpse was spotted floating in the sea in Marsa on November 30, 1888. 

The magistrate’s inquest established that there were no signs of violence on the corpse and it was assumed that the old man had accidentally tumbled into the sea off the wharf’s edge.

Death, it was concluded, was due to drowning and the magistrate declared the case accidental. 

Six years later, Wenzu Galea, who was serving a prison sentence for theft, made a statement to prison superintendent Crispo Barbaro and the police that Bonanno had been murdered by Rużar Mizzi, known as Il-Lajs. 

Mizzi was accused of murder and, during a trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty and Mizzi was condemned to death. 

When the sentence was being passed, Mizzi shouted from the dock that he was innocent of the crime.

Pointing to the crucifix in the criminal court, he said: “He is the witness of my innocence and your sentence.”

Newborn disposed of at Balluta Bay

On March 10, 1900, the dead body of a newly-born baby girl was found in Balluta Bay, St Julian’s.

A post-mortem examination carried out by three doctors established that the baby had been born alive and died of asphyxia due to drowning. 

Police investigations revealed that an unmarried woman was pregnant but, when questioned by the police, said that her baby was not yet due. However, after an examination, a doctor certified that the woman had just given birth to a child. 

Further inquiries revealed that the woman was in love with Francesco Barone, a 33-year-old Sicilian. Their love affair had started in August 1899, when the woman was already pregnant and Barone was aware of her pregnancy.

The woman turned king’s evidence and the police arrested Barone and charged him with wilful homicide and his trial opened on April 1, 1901.

Balluta Bay as it was before it was extended.

In her testimony, the woman stated that when the child was due, her mother wanted to call the midwife but Barone opposed this idea as he was aware that the midwife was duty-bound to inform the police after assisting with the birth of a child.

The witness added that Barone had helped her during the delivery of the baby but, as soon as the baby was born, he had every intention to kill the baby. She said that when Barone wrapped the child in a blanket and tried to strangle her, she pleaded with him to baptise the child.

She also said that Barone had killed the child and placed the baby in a small zinc bath, which he filled with water. When her mother called at her the following day, they planned to bury her in a cemetery but, once more, Barone opposed this idea. So they went to Balluta Bay, where they disposed of the baby. 

The verdict was six votes to three and Barone was found guilty as charged and received a life prison sentence. He was released by pardon on April 1, 1911.

Human trunk in Grand Harbour

Early in the morning of Tuesday, March 26, 1918, some boatmen plying their trade in the French Creek within Grand Harbour, while off the hose shed of the Royal Dockyard, made the horrifying discovery of a human trunk floating on the water. 

The head and limbs were found some distance away. Later, the mutilated remains were identified as those of a 17-year-old youth who had been reported missing the previous evening, having failed to return home as usual.

Police inquiries disclosed that the youth, a dockyard employee, had been regularly in the company of a 57-year-old hose-maker at the dockyard. It was also a well-known fact that the latter was a homosexual. 

After a search in the shed where he worked, the police found a wooden board which bore signs of a chopping board. The search continued and, after diving operations near the shed, the boots and clothes of the victim were found. 

An old image of the French Creek within Grand Harbour.

In his statement to the police, the suspect admitted that he was a homosexual and added that the victim was also a homosexual. He also alleged that, after inviting him for sexual relations, the victim threatened him that he was not keeping this relationship a secret. At that time, such acts were illegal.

Before the trial in June 1919, the defence pleaded insanity, however, a board of medical experts declared him to be sane at the time of the murder.

However, after the defence quoted several instances in which the accused had acted abnormally, the jury declared, with a vote of five to four, the accused was insane at the time of the murder and was confined to a mental hospital. 

Woman pushed off Xgħajra cliff

Early in the morning of  September 11, 1944, the police were informed that a corpse had been seen floating beneath St Leonard Fortress, limits of Xgħajra, in the locality known as Ġolf it-Tafal.

When the body was recovered from the sea, it was identified as that of a 37-year-old woman who was married to a police constable.

During the preliminary investigations, the police suspected no foul play and the case was at first classified as suicide. This hypothesis was strengthened when the constable said that his wife had been indebted to some people and he had repaid the debt. He also said that his wife had left him a couple of times but she returned after a few days missing.

When the case was reported in the press, Carmelo Mercieca informed the police that, three weeks before, he had been approached by the victim’s husband who told him that he was looking for a hitman. Mercieca stated that he had met this man near the Marsa slaughterhouse and, during their first meeting, he left without a reply and told him that he was going to think about it.

The area known as Ġolf it-Tafal in the limits of Xgħajra.

Mercieca added that, after a fortnight, the same man called at his house and asked him to meet him near the petrol station in Birżebbuġa the following morning.

According to Mercieca’s statement, this meeting was held on Sunday, August 27, 1944, and the man told Mercieca that he wanted to get rid of a woman and that he was ready to pay £70 for the job.

Later, there was another meeting and it was revealed that the constable wanted to get rid of his wife. Mercieca stated that he had met the woman on a particular day but his courage failed him and, after waiting for some time, he accompanied Carmela to her house where he had sexual intercourse with her.

When the police continued with their inquiries, it transpired that, before the woman’s death, her husband had been seen in the company of his brother and another man.

When questioned by the police about the woman’s death, the constable’s brother made a statement, admitting that, when Mercieca failed to do the job, his brother enlisted him to kill the woman.

The constable wanted to get rid of his wife

It was also revealed that the woman was told that her husband was coming on a boat with stolen objects. After waiting for some time in the dark in Ġolf it-Tafal, they could see a boat drawing near but this was pure coincidence as the victim’s husband was not on that boat. At that moment, the two men invited the woman to come up to them, saying that her husband was coming and, as she reached the edge of the cliff, she was pushed into the sea.

The police charged two men with the murder and her husband was charged as an accomplice. Their trial began on October 3, 1945. The accused were found guilty and sentenced to death.

However, after an appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on behalf of the victim’s husband, the Judicial Committee decided that there were sufficient grounds to order that the conviction should be overturned and that there should be no order for a new trial.

After the judgment of the Privy Council, the victim’s husband was set free. Moreover, the governor reprieved the others and they were sentenced to life imprisonment.