'We’re stuck in that day': Electrocution victim's family waiting for answers

Fifteen months after Lawrence Piscopo, 57, died from an electric shock in a rented garage, his family is still awaiting the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry.

His wife, Anne, and son, Gabriel, have spoken to Times of Malta, sharing their pain and frustration with a system that they say has left them “stuck in that day”.

“He was everything to us. We lost everything and we remain without answers,”  Anne said.

Piscopo died on August 14 last year, in an incident in a garage he rented in Msida.

Recounting the tragic events, Gabriel explained that the family had spent the evening together before he and his mother went home. Lawrence had headed to the garage, intending to go home later

“He got an electric shock and died on the spot, and he was all alone,” his son recalled.

Anne described the moment she realised something was wrong. After waking up late and finding her husband had not yet returned home, she became worried as his phone was unreachable – though this was not unusual due to poor signal at the garage.

“I decided to go down to the garage to tell him to come home because he had to work the next day,” Anne recalled. “I went there, not knowing what I was about to find.”

She discovered her husband dead on the floor.

The toll of endless waiting

Fifteen months later, the family is grappling not only with their loss but with a crippling sense of being left in the dark.

“A magisterial inquiry was opened and we’re still waiting for its outcome to this day. We don’t even know at which point it is,” Gabriel said.

This uncertainty, he says, has created a sense of “false hope,” as they were told months ago that the inquiry was about to be concluded.

“I can understand this is a case among many but for us it’s everything,” Gabriel stressed.

“He was our dad, our breadwinner, our everything. We can’t let it go. That’s why this inquiry means the world to us.”

The lack of closure means the family cannot move forward emotionally. “To us, this story is as fresh as when it happened last year. We live the story every day,” Anne said.

Lawrence Piscopo with his son, Gabriel. Family photo

Gabriel elaborated: “What’s worse is that we have no idea when this will be concluded. I’d prefer it if they told us it would take 10 years. Not that I want it to stretch it out that long but at least we would have a timeframe. We wouldn’t be left hanging like we are now.”

“What system is that, to leave a family like that? I don’t blame magistrates because I think they have too much on their plate. But who is ultimately suffering from this? Families like us,” he said.

Even worse, when they formally asked for an update under the newly approved magisterial inquiry reform, the only answer they got was that the inquiry is yet to be concluded.

The justice ministry’s replies to Times of Malta questions in this regard hardly address the concerns. A spokesperson for the ministry confirmed the new law empowers victims to request an update on an inquiry from the attorney general but said “the information provided by the AG is based on details received from the magistrate.

“Before doing so, even if the inquiry has been concluded, the attorney general must first determine whether the acts are to be transmitted back to the magistrate or the police for further investigation, or whether the prosecution of individuals is to be initiated,” he said.

Ahead of the inquiry reform earlier this year, the government had praised the law as a new way of bringing more transparency to families of victims awaiting justice.

“With regards to delays, one of the main reasons for the implementation of the magisterial inquiries reform was to address such issues and introduce timeframes within which an inquiry must be concluded by the magistrate and transferred to the attorney general to take the necessary steps,” the ministry spokesperson said.

Loved by people

Meanwhile, Piscopo’s family holds onto the memory of a man who was deeply respected and loved in his community.

Anne described Lawrence as a “man of God, charismatic, who helped everyone, sincere, cautious... and helped people without boasting about it”.

She said, “Everything we dreamt of, he made it a reality for us. We lost everything.”

The grief is particularly profound for Piscopo's niece, who was just four when her he died. Anne shared the heartbreaking detail that when asked what she wants for her birthday, the girl consistently says, “she wants him back”.

Gabriel finds comfort in the many people who share stories of his father’s kindness.

“Almost every day I meet people who tell me he helped them and it’s through them that I will remember who he was,” he said.