Sliema double murderer jailed for life, his accomplice gets 40 years
Daniel Muka and Victor Dragomanski were found guilty last week
One of the men found guilty last month of a shocking double murder in Sliema in 2020 has been sentenced to life in prison, while his accomplice has been sentenced to 40 years behind bars.
Daniel Muka was jailed for life on Tuesday morning after a jury unanimously found him guilty of murdering Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski at their Sliema home in August 2020.
His accomplice, Victor Dragomanski, was jailed for 40 years.
Muka's sentence includes six terms of solitary confinement, the forefitting of his €10,000 bail deposit and the payment of more than €24,000 in court fees. Dragomanski's court costs amounted to over €25,000.
While Muka was unanimously convicted by a jury on all counts, Dragomanski was found guilty by a 6-3 vote of theft leading to homicide. A third man involved in the crime, Jesper Kristiansen, previously admitted to his role and is serving a 40-year jail sentence for the double murder.
On Tuesday morning, Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras went through the counts of which the two men were found guilty before reading out the sentence.
Last month, the court heard submissions by Dragomanski’s lawyer, José Herrera and the prosecution.
Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence both Muka and Dragomanski to life imprisonment.
Dragomanski’s lawyer argued for his client to receive a lesser sentence that reflects his client’s role in the crime and the 6-3 vote to convict him. He argued that the sentence inflicted on his client should reflect the verdict, which he described as contradictory.
A lawyer representing the victims’ families, Joe Giglio, also asked the court to jail the two for life and also asked that they be ordered to spend time in solitary confinement.
Recounting attending the scene of the grisly murder in a court hearing last month, a police inspector described finding the bodies of the two murder victims in pools of blood on separate floors of the house.
Maciejowski had been shot once in his forehead while Pandolfino was shot five times.
Rooms had been ransacked, while one of the bodies showed signs of having been looted for jewellery.
Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras presided.
AG lawyers Maria Francesca Spiteri and Kevin Valletta prosecuted. Lawyers José Herrera and Alex Scerri Herrera assisted Dragomanski. Legal aid lawyer Josette Sultana represented Muka. Lawyers Joe Giglio and Michaela Giglio assisted the victims’ families.