One of the three suspects in the double Sliema murder vowed to kill an “Albanian” alleged accomplice when the police traced him to a Gżira hotel room.

Viktor Dragomanski asked the police to put him in the same cell as the other suspect upon his arrest, a court heard on Friday. 

Viktor Dragomanski

Various officers were testifying in the compilation of evidence against Dragomanski, a 36-year-old Macedonian who is pleading not guilty to the murder of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski inside their Sliema townhouse on August 18. 

Dragomanski, wearing an orange boiler-suit and visor, followed proceedings as Rapid Intervention Unit officers Luke Stivala and Clayton Azzopardi from the Rapid Intervention Unit, testified how that night, they had rushed to the house on Locker Street when the call from the control room came through at around 10.25pm.

After being given go-ahead to break into the property, they stepped inside and immediately came across the first victim, later identified as Pandolfino. 

They saw a man in boxer shorts and slippers, lying face down and motionless in a pool of blood a few feet away from spent 9mm cartridges and a golden cross.

There were other cartridges on the stairs leading up to the first floor where the body of the second victim was discovered.

They noticed signs of a scuffle downstairs and signs of theft in a bedroom on the first floor, with drawers flung open, one placed on the floor and clothes scattered around.

Emergency consultant Jonathan Joslin was one of two specialists in the “code red” callout that night when a call for medical assistance came through at 10.48pm.

Within 11 minutes, two ambulance teams reached the crime scene, and by 11.03pm, the two victims were certified dead.

Joslin had examined Pandolfino, noting blood splatters, gunshot wounds, no pulse and no signs of life.

His colleague, Michael Spiteri, had certified Maciejowski dead.

‘I will kill him’

Inspector Saviour Baldacchino, involved in the murder investigation, was present when Dragomanski was arrested in Gżira, within minutes of trying to escape through the back window of his hotel room.

Looking out through a shaft window, the inspector had spotted a man making his way to the roof. 

Upon his arrest, the suspect had mentioned “the Albanian”, despite being informed about his right to silence, asking the police to put them in the same cell, saying “I will kill him”.

Inspector Baldacchino said that although Dragomanski was not very coherent, he had insisted that he was not involved in the shooting and wanted to speak to the police even before being assisted by a lawyer. 

Another policeman, Lino Parascandalo, gave a detailed testimony about the step-by-step reconstruction of the route taken by the VW Tiguan, allegedly used by the three murder suspects. 

The car had been stolen from Nazju Ellul Street, Gżira, in September 2018. A police report had been lodged. 

Its unique taillights and panoramic sunroof proved useful in tracking the vehicle through CCTV footage retrieved from multiple retail outlets and Transport Malta cameras in the Sliema, Gżira and Santa Venera areas.

As the lengthy sitting came to an end, the court, presided over by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, upheld a request by parte civile lawyer Joe Giglio, to release the Sliema property to the relatives of the victims.

The court also declared that there was sufficient evidence to commit the accused to trial by indictment. 

A request by defence lawyer Joseph Brincat for the court to authorise the accused to take back some €950 cash from police possession, was objected to by the prosecution in view of a freezing order and the fact that the monies could serve to prove the theft charges. 

The case continues in November.

Inspectors James Grech and Colin Sheldon prosecuted.