Siblings recall 'larger than life' murder victim

Christian Pandolfino was “larger than life” and “a mentor to many people,”  his siblings told jurors on Wednesday afternoon, retracing the evening that led to his murder.

Paula and Joseph Pandolfino were testifying as part of the trial by jury of Daniel Muka, 30, and Viktor Dragomanski, who are facing charges linked to their alleged involvement in the murder of Christian Pandolfino, 58, and Ivor Maciejowski, 30.

The two men were shot dead in their Sliema house in Locker Street on August 18, 2020. Muka and Dragomanski are pleading not guilty.

A third man, Jesper Kristiansen, was jailed for 40 years last year after admitting his guilt as part of a plea-bargaining deal.

Earlier in the afternoon, Pandolfino’s uncle, Alfred Debono, who lives in the same street, told jurors of his version of events.

“I was watching a Champions League (football) match when I heard a big noise,” Debono told jurors, likening the sound to that heard following a collision. He went to the balcony and saw a white Volkswagen car parked on the pavement and a man walking towards the victims’ house. Shortly afterwards, three men emerged from the house walking behind each other.

The witness recalled that Pandolfino’s next-door neighbour told him that he heard gunshots and called the police.

Asked if he told the three suspects anything, the witness said that he called out to them “but they did not look up and kept walking away at a fast pace.”

Paula Pandolfino, the victim’s sister, told jurors of her close relationship with her brother. She and her children were visiting Malta and staying at his home at the time. The night of the double murder was her last night in Malta before they flew back to London.

That evening, they planned to go for dinner at 7:30pm to a nearby hotel restaurant. Her son initially wanted to stay home with Maciejowski, only being convinced to join the dinner to see his grandmother, she said.

After finishing his dinner, shortly before 10pm, Chris Pandolfino made his way home, with the rest of the party leaving the restaurant a few minutes later, stopping for an ice cream along the promenade.

When they got to the victims’ house, a neighbour told her “listen Paula, be careful. I heard gunshots and called the police”.  

When the police arrived some minutes later, she asked them to break the door down.

“They did not tell us what they found but told us to move away.”

By the time her brother, Joseph, who lived nearby, arrived, they realised that the whole ordeal was being televised, prompting them to ask the media “not so politely to put the cameras down”.

Pandolfino described her brother Christian as “larger than life and the youngest ever doctor to graduate at the time. He then went into banking. He was a mentor to many people. He was very kind.”

Saying “he was someone we all looked up to,” she told the jury that the tragedy had driven her to move away from London “because every restaurant and corner reminded me of him”.

Pandolfino’s brother, Joseph, then took the stand. He told the jurors that  he received a call from Paula at 10:33pm, telling him “come, come there has been a shooting”.

When he got to Locker Street he found the area had been cordoned off with police tape and police lights were flashing.

“Chris was extremely intelligent, a genius. He was flamboyant, extravagant and larger than life,” Pandolfino said.

“He had a fixation with gold. But he was extremely generous. If anyone needed anything, he would help out.”

The testimony took place shortly after a visit to the site of the murder on Wednesday morning.

The trial continues on Thursday.

Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras is presiding.

AG lawyers Maria Francesca Spiteri and Kevin Valletta prosecuted.

Lawyers José Herrera and Alex Scerri Herrera appeared for Dragomanski. Legal aid lawyer Josette Sultana appeared for Muka. Lawyers Michaela and Joe Giglio appeared for the victims’ families.