Police 'solve' 1984 murder

The police have "solved" a murder committed 21 years ago, the second killing dating back so many years to be solved by the CID homicide squad over the past few months.

A 40-year-old man of Zejtun, currently serving time for murder is expected to be arraigned soon and accused of killing Rozina Zammit, 54, of Safi.

Ms Zammit had been found dead with multiple stab wounds to her neck and abdomen at 9.45 a.m. on February 9, 1984.

The case was solved after investigations carried out by the CID homicide squad led by Inspector Christopher Pullicino.

The victim lived alone in Triq Hlantun, Safi and used to help another woman, who also lived on her own. One day, the second woman called one of the victim's relatives to ask if she had seen Ms Zammit because she had failed to turn up at her house as usual.

The victim was later found dead in the bedroom of her residence. She had been brutally murdered, with several stab wounds to her neck and at least 10 to her stomach.

There were no signs of a break-in or extensive ransacking but the police found the doors of two wardrobes open and some bags strewn on the floor, indicating that the intruder or intruders had stolen cash and or jewellery.

Over the past few days, the police, with the help of personnel from the Civil Protection Department, the Water Services Corporation and the Works Division, emptied a reservoir in Zejtun and used metal detectors in a search for what is thought to be the 1984 murder weapon.

The police had a tough job wading through and later sifting some half a metre of silt in a bid to find the knife used in the crime. It is not known whether the weapon was in fact found.

Last September, the squad solved another murder case that had taken place in April 1989. Three men were charged with killing 66-year-old Nazzareno Ebejer of Birkirkara. One of the accused, who had already been tried for another murder, has since died.

Mr Ebejer had returned to Malta a year before he was killed after spending a long time in Wales. He was found dead on Sunday, April 10, 1989 at about 6.30 p.m. but the autopsy established he had been slain some 12 - 18 hours earlier.

Investigations subsequently revealed he was killed on April 9, a Saturday night, when shots were fired from a shotgun at very close range. The man was hit in the face and he was so badly disfigured it had taken the police two days to establish his identity.

In their investigations last year, the police had even managed to find the shotgun, even though it had been passed on to third parties.

The victim had travelled to Wales after being released from prison in 1958. Mr Ebejer had been jailed for 18 years for the murder of Nina Galea, a 36-year-old mother of nine, at Il-Laqxija, in Birkirkara.

On July 20, 1952, he had had an argument with his brother-in-law, Vincent Saliba, whom he tried to shoot, but Mr Saliba had ducked and the bullet hit Ms Galea, who was sitting on her doorstep. The bullet had gone through her breast and out of her back, killing her instantly.

In a trial by jury Mr Ebejer was found guilty of the murder by seven votes to two. He only served six years of an 18-year jail term after an amnesty was granted in 1958. He had left Malta soon after being released.

It is very rare for the police to solve murder cases dating back to a good number of years. The police had solved the murder of Francis Grixti, killed on October 26, 1905, some 22 years later.

In another case, the killer of Mikiel Camilleri and his son Carmelo was brought to justice 18 years later. The victims had been murdered on their farm in the limits of Ûejtun on August 21, 1911 and the case was solved in December 1929.