A woman has recounted how a man accused of murdering two other people attacked her with a bolt cutter. 

Queen OG Bayamma told the court that was in her bathroom brushing her teeth when she was hit on her head, face and arms and knocked down to the ground before her brother burst in and saved her from the aggressor.

Bayamma was testifying in the case against Iddrisu Fajsal, a 34-year-old who stands accused of murdering Joseph Bartolo, 73 and Carmen Abela, 56, on October 15, attempting to murder Banyamma and slightly injuring her brother.

Bartolo and Abela were found dead at a Marsa farmhouse early that morning. They had been stabbed. Fajsal was arrested shortly after police were called to the scene.

The court previously heard that the two deceased victims had converted an old horse-riding school on Triq it-Tigrija in Marsa into living quarters. Bartolo, Abela, Banyamma and Fajsal are all understood to have been living on the property at the time of the attack. 

Testifying on Tuesday, Banyamma recalled how Fajsal had burst in on her and started attacking her without reason.

“My brother managed to get him out. If he hadn’t, I don’t know what would have happened,” she said.

Banyamma’s brother, Ifayeni Ezeh, happened to be at the Marsa farmhouse to visit his sister. He usually lives in Żabbar.

Brother wrestled bolt cutters out of the accused's hands 

Ezeh told the court that he was asleep when he heard a commotion and his sister’s voice. It was dark and before he knew it, he was tangled up in a fight with the accused.

He said he did not know the accused, though his face was familiar.

As the two fought, three police officers showed up. The officers ordered them to stop fighting, Ezeh testified, but the accused did not.

“I asked him why he was trying to kill my sister, and he did not reply,” the witness testified.

Ezeh said he eventually managed to get the bolt cutter out of the accused’s hands and tossed it towards the officers.

Those three officers, George Attard, Stephen Bonello and Michele Farrugia, also testified on Tuesday.

They were told by a civilian that two men were fighting close to Triq December 13. At the time, they were some distance away but could see two black men tussling, the court heard.

As soon as they got to the scene, they noticed that one of the men was holding a large pair of “scissors” that were “covered in blood”. Two women close by, who they later learned were relatives of one of the murder victims, were crying.

At the time, the officers were not aware that two people had been killed.

The shorter of the two men eventually got the shears off the other and tossed them towards the police.

The accused then tried to run away and leapt over a padlocked gate. Police forced the gate open and found the accused hiding behind a container. He did not cooperate with police, and he was tasered and then arrested.

Defence lawyer Joe Brincat told the court that Bayamma had not presented any medical certificates to prove she had been grievously injured, as she claimed. He objected to the prosecution’s request for the court to order that the man stand trial on indictment, saying evidence presented so far did not justify that.

Prosecutors disagreed, saying there was abundant proof linking the accused to the crime.

The court, presided by Magistrate Gabriella Vella, is to decree on the prima facie on November 13.

Lawyers Joe Brincat and Julia Micallef Stafrace are defence counsel. Inspectors Kurt Zahra and Wayne Camilleri are prosecuting. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Franco Debono are appearing parte civile.