A man accused of violently assaulting a married couple at Marsa three years ago, was acquitted after proving that the aggressor might have been his step-brother who shared a striking resemblance.

Francis Farrugia, a 37-year old Hamrun resident, landed under suspicion weeks after the incident that broke out at Triq l-Istalel on that May 2018 afternoon when the couple went to check on a friend, a Cameroon national, who had suffered injuries when a fire broke out inside the kitchen of his rented home.

When the husband and wife got there, a stranger on the other side of the road gestured towards them, inviting them to take a look at the damage caused to his property by his “African” tenants who had set fire to the place.

The couple gingerly stepped into the dark, gloomy building but could not smell nor see any signs of the alleged damage.

They walked back outside and just as they were about to leave, the stranger came after them with an iron bar.

He smashed the bar onto the man’s head and rained more blows on his face, knocking out five of his victim’s teeth.

The wife, screaming and crying, stepped in to try to break up the assault but fared no better.

The aggressor grabbed her by the hair, smashed her face on the ground and broke her specs.

The next day the couple went to file a police report, explaining that they had no idea who their aggressor was.

But a few days later, police got an anonymous tip-off about the suspected aggressor being someone known as “Frans it-Topper.”

A month or so after the incident the alleged victims were summoned to the police station where they were shown a photo of the suspect, Francis Farrugia.

That photo was slightly bigger than a passport-sized image and upon looking at it on the computer screen, the couple confirmed that that was their attacker.

That was how Farrugia ended up facing charges for the violent assault.

But all along he vehemently denied the allegations, insisting that he had nothing to do with the incident and producing evidence to show that at the time of the alleged aggression in Marsa he had been at his mother’s home at Cospicua.

It was his son’s First Holy Communion that day and he along with other relatives had organized a family gathering following the church function.

The accused produced some 20 witnesses, photos and even a memento of his son’s religious celebration.

He also produced evidence showing that he had a step-brother, commonly known by that nickname, who strongly resembled him and who had passed away in 2020.

When delivering judgment the court, presided over by magistrate Rachel Montebello, said that the prosecution had to prove the “link of causation” between the accused and the alleged crime.

Only that would lead to the moral certainty that it was the accused and no one else who had committed the crime.

The accused’s lawyers challenged the man’s identification which had taken place almost two months after the incident and without any identification parade to ensure all necessary safeguards.

The case rested mainly, if not solely, upon that identification by the couple who were evidently conditioned by the single photo shown to them.

The court observed that such identification was neither independent nor spontaneous.

Indeed, the court could not help voice disapproval at the “far from satisfactory manner” whereby the identification was conducted.

The process was “tainted,” said Magistrate Montebello.

The accused’s version that he was not present in Marsa that day was not rebutted and the man was never asked whether he was known by the nickname which was actually attributed to his late relative.

When all was considered the court was not morally convinced that it was the accused who had assaulted the couple and thus pronounced an acquittal.

Lawyers Alfred Abela and Rene’ Darmanin were defence counsel.