In 1946, Karmenu Vella, a police constable from Marsa who was stationed in Qrendi fell in love with Kalċidonja Abdilla, a widow he was also related to.

Murdered woman Lela Vella. Photo provided by Eddie Attard

When Abdilla told Vella she was pregnant with his child – a taboo at the time – he urged her to murder his wife Lela Vella.

Karmenu Vella asked his wife to take some food items to the police station where he was stationed, informing Abdilla she will walk through Sqaq tal-Bottijiet.

Abdilla waited for the wife at the alley, where she pelted her with stones and killed her. Vella eventually filed a report that his wife had not made it to the station.

The two were eventually apprehended, with the constable and widow facing a trial by jury. Vella was sent to prison for life while Abdilla got served a 16-year sentence.

“She was the first woman to give birth in prison, and while she was allowed to keep the baby with her for nine months, no one knew what happened to the child until decades later,” Attard recalls.

Kalċidonja Abdilla, who, together with police constable Karmenu Vella faced a trial-by-jury over the murder of the officer’s wife Lela Vella, was the first woman to give birth in prison. She is seen here, with an għonnella on her shoulder, with police officers during the in loco, or onsite session, of the trial-by-jury in November 1947. Photo: Sir Anthony Mamo Collection at the National Archives of Malta

“In 1998 I received a call from a government department because a woman in Australia had requested information about her mother.”

Attard’s extensive research came in handy 50 years after the murder, with Abdilla’s daughter – born in prison so many years before – finally getting some closure.

Low rate of murder

The cover of Attard’s upcoming book about murder in Malta will depict a scene from the Genesis of Cain killing his brother Abel.

A younger Edward Attard as police constable. Photo provided by Eddie Attard. Right: Eddie Attard now. Photo: Karl Andrew Micallef

“I don’t know whether Cain and Abel existed, but the documentation of the murder is a declaration that murder started with the creation of humanity and will end with the end of humanity,” Attard believes.

Attard notes that contrary to common belief, Malta has a low rate of murder.

With a population of 500,000 people, the country sees an average of five to six murders a year – one of the lowest percentages in the world. Most murders in Malta are the result of disagreement.

“What is of concern is the nature of some murders that took place in recent years – such as matricide (the killing of one’s mother) and filicide (the killing of one’s child).

“We also had a shocking case at the beginning of the year: in 222 years, we only had two such cases of rape followed by murder.”

This article is being published as part of a series called Malta’s hidden treasures, a collaboration between the National Archives of Malta and Times of Malta. The project, forming part of the European Digital Treasures co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme, allows readers to gain an insight into Maltese history, society through our archives.

You can discover more at the National Archives of Malta headquartered at the historical building of Santo Spirito in Rabat and other archives. If you are unable to visit the archives in person, you can access an online oral and visual archive on www.memorja.com

The website is the main repository of recent Maltese national and public memory and hosts hundreds of recollections dating back to the 1920s.

More information about the national archives on 2145 9863 or customercare. archives@gov.mt