The two men charged with the murder of a Colombian national seemed "very shocked" and "emotional" upon being told that the man they had attacked had succumbed to his injuries, a police inspector told a court today.
The court heard how CCTV footage showed that the two men had continued kicking the victim even after he had collapsed to the ground.
Prosecuting officer Nikolai Sant was testifying in the first hearing before Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona in the case of Zyad Mohamed Drebeka, 23, and Ahmed Rasem Franka, 29, who stand charged with the murder of Carlos Augusto de la Espriella Perez.
The two men had continued kicking the victim even after he had collapsed to the ground.
Insp. Sant said that the St Julian's police station were informed of the incident on May 19 at around 3am in Paceville. The victim, who had already been rushed to hospital by the time the police had arrived, was a 36-year-old Colombian who had been living in Swieqi whilst studying English.
Insp. Sant said that from the footage recorded by the establishment's CCTV, it clearly emerged that the victim had been assaulted by two people. The argument seemed to have started when one of the Libyan nationals grabbed a glass and smashed it in the victim's face. He also aimed blows at Mr Perez.
A few seconds later, a second person was seen entering the frame. A third person - whom the police have not yet managed to identify - was seen trying to calm the situation down.
At one point, Mr Perez collapsed onto the ground and was kicked repeatedly. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition where he was certified as having suffered a massive subarachnoid haemorrhage.
As the inspector continued reading from the medical certificate, Mr Drebeka buried his face in his hands.
Two days later, Mr Perez died.
The two suspects were seen catching a white taxi which took them to a Swieqi residence, Insp. Sant continued. The taxi’s dash-cam captured one of the men’s torn shirt.
The suspects were found hiding in a wardrobe in a Gozo garage
The two men were eventually arrested on May 25 after the police found them hiding in a wardrobe in a garage in San Lawrenz, Gozo.
During the interrogation, the two men were informed that the victim had passed away.
“They seemed emotional and very shocked when they found out he had died, and said that their intention had never been to kill him,” Insp. Sant told the court.
Upon his second questioning by homicide squad chief Keith Arnaud, Mr Franka insisted that he had never beat up the victim. The day before, he had admitted to the police to having punched Mr Perez, Insp. Sant said.
Mr Drebeka said that the argument had started over a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey, which was nearly consumed. A foreign woman who was with them held a third glass, which somehow ended up in the hands of the victim.
Mr Drebeka told the police that he had asked him to return the glass but Mr Perez had refused and had insulted him in Spanish.
At that, Mr Drebeka knocked the glass out of his hand, prompting Mr Perez to step closer to him. Mr Drebeka then admitted that he had hit him in the face with the glass and punched him repeatedly. He said that Mr Franka also punched and kicked Mr Perez.
The versions of the two accused were not congruous, Insp. Sant observed, pointing out that Mr Franka had said that they had drunk the bottle of Jack Daniels at home while Mr Drebeka denied this.
The first eyewitness – a foreigner who could only speak English – took the witness stand. But because no English to Maltese interpreter was immediately produced, the court ordered the sitting to be deferred to next month.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Veronique Dalli appeared for the accused men.