[attach id=278103 size="medium"]The front page of The Times on the day Mr Grech’s body was found in April 2005.[/attach]
A murdered transvestite prostitute had a relationship with his alleged killer and wanted him to leave his wife so they could live together, a court heard yesterday.
Nicolina Portelli, a friend of victim Simon Grech, who was also known as Simone, said he had told her that 42-year-old Ismael Habesh did not want to leave his wife because his travel visa was linked to the fact he was married to a Maltese national.
She said she had met Mr Grech on the morning of the day he went missing on April 7, 2005, near the substance abuse detoxification centre in Gwardmanga. She recalled that he seemed unwell.
Mr Habesh, who is from Libya, and another man, Faical Mahouachi, 46, of Tunisia, are pleading not guilty to Mr Grech’s murder.
Mr Grech was found days later, at about 4pm on April 13, 2005, lying on his back amid a carpet of wild marigolds in a field situated near the roundabout known as Is-Salib tal-Marsa, adjacent to the HSBC Bank.
Police almost tripped on a woman’s shoe before they saw the decomposed body
Ms Portelli said she had gone to cash a cheque and on her return met Mr Grech and Mr Habesh at a coffee shop nearby. She overheard Mr Habesh telling Mr Grech: “How many times have I told you not to speak to me outside because of my wife?”
Mr Grech was dressed casually, in tracksuit trousers, because Mr Habesh did not like him wearing woman’s clothing during the day, she said.
Taking the witness stand, Police Inspector Ray Aquilina said he had begun investigating the disappearance of Mr Grech a day before his body was found.
Mr Grech was known to police as someone who would prostitute himself in an area of Marsa close to where his body was found.
Mr Habesh was called in for questioning and Inspector Aquilina and Inspector Louise Calleja took him to the area usually frequented by Mr Grech.
They searched an abandoned field behind the Cassar Ship Repair offices and found a mattress that was more than likely used for sexual services, Inspector Aquilina said.
In another field, near the former HSBC bank, they were led to a brick on which Mr Grech would sit to rest or hide from the police.
At one point, they walked down a dark area but called off the search because they could not see anything.
The next morning, Superintendent Carmel Bartolo and Sergeant Andrew St John noticed that an area of grass in a field near the main thoroughfare in Marsa was lower than the surrounding area.
They walked into the field and noticed broken foliage leading up to the area. On their way they almost tripped on a woman’s shoe before they were confronted with the grisly scene of Mr Grech’s decomposed body.
The case continues.