The parents of a 30-year-old woman killed by a speeding driver seven years ago have been left reeling after the driver had his high-end sports car returned to him.

In an interview with Times of Malta, Anthony and Cynthia Rapa opened up for the first time about the horrific death of their daughter Stephanie, saying they feel “insulted” and devastated by the court decision handed last month.

The suffering of losing their beloved daughter will forever remain, they said, compounded by the pain of seeing the instrument of her death returned to the man who was convicted of killing her.

“It pains us so much to see him get the car back and probably be able to drive it again soon,” her mother said.

“To us, the car is like the weapon of her death. No weapon is ever returned to the aggressor.”

Cynthia and Anthony Rapa in the interview with Times of Malta. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The driver, Anthony Chircop, was convicted of involuntary homicide for driving his Nissan Skyline GT at a reckless 140km/hr in a 35km/hr zone, but had his vehicle returned last month due to a procedural error by the prosecution. 

The appeals court ruled that the car had not been properly listed in the court documents and, therefore, could not be legally confiscated.

We lived for her and our lives ended with hers

Chircop, who has a history of traffic offences, including reckless driving, driving without a licence and drunk driving, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years, and ordered to pay €324,000 in compensation to Stephanie’s heirs. 

While the court of appeal upheld the sentence and driving ban, the return of the car has reopened a deep wound for the grieving family.

‘We spoke minutes before she was killed’

The couple vividly recounted the horrific events of that fateful day on October 19, 2017. 

Stephanie, a promising pharmacist who had just started studying to become a doctor, had just finished her shift at a Sliema drugstore and was walking to her car.

She got held up at work that evening, and her mother, Cynthia, called her to check on her. The two had a brief conversation as Stephanie was walking to her car.

“She promised me she would text me when she’s in the car and about to leave for home,” Cynthia recalled. 

“And we hung up. Minutes later, she was killed.”

Stephanie was crossing the busy Gżira thoroughfare near Manoel Island when she was hit by a white Nissan driven by Chircop, at around 7.45pm.

CCTV footage shows Rapa’s body flew more than three metres into the air upon impact. She was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead a short while later.

In court it was revealed the car was one of the nine fastest in the world and could go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds. It was being driven at excessive speed and had left tyre marks on the road measuring over 44 metres.

A Nissan Skyline can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds. File photo: Tokumeigakarinoaoshima via Wikimedia Commons CC by SA

“A car like that is not meant to be driven on Maltese roads,” the court observed.

“The car was being driven like an arrow, so much so that the defendant didn’t even see the woman crossing despite the width of the straight, well-lit road.”

Cynthia recalled how she started to grow increasingly worried when Stephanie failed to text, as she promised she would. And she began texting and calling her incessantly to no avail.

Someone at the accident scene had taken the victim’s phone and brought it to the hospital with her, where it continued to ring unanswered in the emergency room.

A car like that is not meant to be driven on Maltese roads

"At one point, a doctor picked up the phone,” Cynthia explained.

“I thought that maybe she was back at work, and he was one of her colleagues, and I told him it was her I wanted to speak to. That’s when he told us we’d better go to the hospital quickly.”

The parents rushed to the hospital, fearing the worst but still clinging to hope.

“The doctor didn’t even want to tell us she had died,” Anthony said, his voice trembling. 

“Until I looked at him and asked: ‘Did our daughter leave us, doctor?’ He didn’t even say yes, he simply lowered his head”.

‘What Christmas is there to celebrate?’

The couple had adopted Stephanie from Peru when she was just six months old, and she was their only daughter.

“She was the heart of our home,” the mother said with tears rolling down her eyes.

“Life does go on for us, but the beauty of it has gone.”

Stephanie, adopted from Peru at the age of six months, was the couple's only daughter. Family photo

“We lived for her and our lives ended with hers,” Anthony said, his voice heavy with grief.

"We are now existing, not living. It would always be the three of us together, wherever we go. Now life has become pointless. What Christmas is there to celebrate?”