Two to be arraigned over bank messenger's killing

Two men are today to be charged in court with the murder of Alphonse Ferriggi, the Bank of Valletta messenger killed by a single gunshot in front of the bank's branch in Naxxar Road, San Gwann on September 18, 2000.

Police sources yesterday said there was now enough evidence to charge two people, both of whom were rounded up yesterday.

Four people are believed to have been involved in the killing, but police so far only have enough evidence to charge two of them.

The police have forensic evidence as well as witnesses who saw and recognised the men, the sources said.

The forensic evidence includes the results of DNA tests that were carried out on cigarette butts collected from the scene of the crime. The tests were carried out at a British laboratory.

An enhanced version of a video tape taken by the bank's security camera, which showed undisguised people tampering with the lock of the night safe in which internal bank mail was deposited, was also very helpful to the police.

Police investigating the case had discovered that the lock was packed with twigs cut from a tree nearby. This convinced them that the killers had done this to prevent whoever came to deposit anything from opening the lock, giving them time to commit the robbery.

Mr Ferriggi, 42, was about to deposit mail in the bank's mail box when he was attacked by robbers as soon as he opened the boot of the bank's Peugeot to take out the mail bags.

It is thought that one of the robbers panicked, shooting Mr Ferriggi in the face at point blank range.

Police had suspected that Mr Ferriggi's murder was a bungled theft rather than a planned murder.

The robbers even took bags of internal mail away, presumably mistaking them for cash. In fact the killers ran off empty handed, except for the mail they stole.

Various security measures have been introduced since Mr Ferriggi's killing, which include the presence of policemen during the delivery of mail as well as a large label reading 'mail' being attached to the doors of night safes.

Mary Ferriggi, the victim's wife, last year threatened to sue the bank unless she received the damages due to her and her 14-year-old son in terms of the bank's insurance policy for employees killed on duty.

Bank of Valletta had paid over Lm40,000 from the Group Life Assurance Cover but a dispute remained over the payment of Lm25,000 about which the bank argued that its insurers would only pay if the magisterial inquiry concluded that the death was caused by 'third parties with criminal intent against the bank'.