Murdered woman’s mother ‘begging for justice’ 10 years later
Eleanor Walker was killed 10 years ago, but a trial date for her alleged killer has not been set
The mother of a woman murdered 10 years ago to the day has called for justice for her daughter, as the court case against the prime suspect remains unresolved.
Eleanor Walker was killed on July 2, 2016. Her body was discovered in an Qormi warehouse, with police attributing the cause of death to a head injury caused by a blunt instrument.
Her estranged husband, Andrew Mangion, turned himself in following a two-day manhunt and was charged with her murder. He is pleading not guilty.
The murdered woman’s mother, Josephine Walker, said: “It’s 10 years today since Eleanor was murdered and nothing has happened for her justice. I am begging for justice.”
A banner reading “10 years on and still not justice for Eleanor Walker” was hung opposite Parliament in Valletta on Thursday in protest.
Photo: Michaela Camilleri for The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.In a statement, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation noted that a trial date had not yet been set and that Mangion remained on bail despite facing further criminal charges for offences allegedly committed while out on bail, including violent theft.
“He was released on bail again and remains at liberty today, pending trial for Eleanor Walker’s murder”, the foundation said.
“Eleanor Walker's case is a stark reminder of the human cost of delayed justice. Ten years without a trial is intolerable. Eleanor, her daughter, and the family and friends she left behind deserve justice now.”
Referencing its report, Justice at Risk, published in October last year, the foundation emphasised that prolonged criminal proceedings had “serious consequences on criminal justice”, risking evidence deteriorating or becoming inadmissible, witnesses’ memories fading and accused persons absconding, dying, or being declared unfit to stand trial.
Sources said at the time of Walker’s murder that Mangion had told a close relative that he had killed his wife and sought their help to dispose of the body
Forensic investigators were reported to believe that a white van owned by Mangion was used to move the body to the warehouse, with the woman most likely killed in a Swieqi garage.
The couple, who were married in 2009 and had a nine-year-old daughter, were in the midst of separation proceedings at the time of the murder.