Last updated at 1.50pm with police testimony below.

Two Marsaxlokk fishermen went on trial on Monday for the murder of Albert Brian Rosso, who disappeared 18 years ago and was never found.

Anthony Bugeja, now 55, and Piero Di Bartolo, now 49, stand accused of wilful murder, unlawful use of a firearm while committing the crime as well as disposing of the body.

The case dates back to October 10, 2005, when Rosso was last seen leaving his workplace at San Luċjan Aquaculture Centre to meet his business partner, Bugeja.

The prosecution alleges that Rosso was shot dead during an argument that broke out over a fishing vessel, Desiree, that he co-owned with Bugeja.

Bugeja allegedly fetched the weapon and shot Rosso in the presence and in agreement with Di Bartolo who used to operate the vessel.

The two then allegedly put the victim’s body in a sack and dumped it at sea near the freeport, weighing it down with stone slabs.

The body was never retrieved.

It was Rosso’s wife who reported him missing, telling police that her husband was being threatened by some Italian man over the fishing vessel.

Last year, the Court of Criminal Appeal confirmed a previous decision by the Criminal Court declaring statements released by the accused, at a time when legal assistance was not yet allowed in the pre-trial stage, inadmissible in evidence.

When the trial started on Monday morning, AG lawyer Angele Vella said that some 30 witnesses were to be summoned by the prosecution, including former high-ranking members of the police who had worked on the murder investigation. Civilian witnesses will also testify, shedding light upon the life and final days of the alleged victim.

Phone calls between Bugeja and Rosso as well as CCTV footage showing the victim leaving the workplace when he was last seen alive, will also be presented in evidence.

“Circumstances do not lie but may be seen,” the prosecuting lawyer said, addressing the jury of eight men and a woman. He urged them to put their life experience to use when putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

Ultimately “justice must be done with the accused, the victim and also with society,” said the lawyer wrapping up the first stage of the morning’s session.

Rosso was scared, and carried a pistol with him

Superintendent Louise Calleja, who was the first witness, told the court that at 6:49am on October 10, 2005, Rosso clocked in at his workplace, leaving for the last time at 8:28am. He held a black pouch which police were later told contained a pistol he had bought weeks earlier, telling colleagues that he was “scared.”

Details about the victim’s final movements emerged when Superintendent Louise Calleja took the stand as the first witness at the trial.

She said Rosso should have clocked off at 4pm and he and his wife had planned to run some errands that afternoon.

His wife had tried calling him but his mobile phone was switched off. She had even gone to his workplace, but the watchman on duty said that he had not seen her husband. She then reported him missing. 

The Vice Squad stepped in to investigate the missing person’s report, later joined by the Criminal Investigations Department.

Photos of the missing man and his white Isuzu Elf vehicle were circulated among the police mobile squad and patrols kicked off in search of Rosso.

His wife again spoke to the investigators, shedding more light about her husband’s social activities, especially among fishermen and at the Floriana football club.

She also spoke about the fishing vessel he had first co-owned with a Sicilian man, Sebastiano Lupo.

Earlier that year, Anthony Bugeja had bought Lupo’s half share for Lm32,000.

The woman said that her husband was “afraid” but she could not tell why or whom he feared.

Calleja said one of Rosso's superiors, who had known him for some 17 years, also knew that the man was being threatened and had even gone to the police commissioner.

Other colleagues confirmed that Rosso used to carry a weapon in the black pouch.

A fisherman who worked on the Desiree, told police about a trip to Sicily some time before Rosso’s disappearance.

Alfred Cassar, nicknamed Cintorini, had joined Rosso, Bugeja, Di Bartolo and two Arab men on board the vessel for a three to four week trip to Sicily in July.

But after three days, Rosso returned to Malta on board the catamaran.

The rest of the party sailed back to Malta without him, police were told.

A week after Rosso’s disappearance, his Isuzu van was discovered in an Ghaxaq side street where it had allegedly been parked on October 10 by an unknown man. That man left the scene in another vehicle driven by someone, police investigations showed.

Shot in garage, blood found

Subsequently, confidential information indicated that Rosso had allegedly been shot in Bugeja’s garage.

When inspecting the premises, police came across traces of blood as well as a dent in the garage door, testified Calleja.

The floor appeared to have been washed.

The trial continues.

Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera is presiding.

AG lawyer Andrea Zammit is prosecuting. Lawyer Stefano Filletti is appearing for the victim's family.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Franco Debono are counsel to Bugeja.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto is counsel to Di Bartolo.