A man has admitted to murdering taxi driver Mario Farrugia, who was found dead in the trunk of his car two years ago, and the attempted murder of a second man, Emil Marinov.

Elliot Paul Busuttil, 40, from Attard changed his plea to guilty on Thursday morning and the court was informed that the prosecution and defence had agreed on a 35-year prison sentence.

His 62-year-old victim, from Pembroke, was stabbed more than 40 times and then left in the trunk of his car in an Qormi valley, where it was found on April 5, 2022.

At the time Busuttil was out on bail for the attempted murder of Bulgarian national Emil Marinov, who was found in Ta' Qali in August 2020, lying on the ground in a pool of blood after also being stabbed multiple times. 

Emil Maranov was stabbed multiple times.

Busuttil initially denied both crimes but changed his plea after a deal.

On Thursday Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera was informed that the prosecution and defence had agreed on a 35-year prison sentence.

The judge said the court was not bound by the plea bargaining agreement. 

Defence counsel Edward Gatt and Shaun Zammit said the court should respect the agreement because otherwise it would backfire on future plea bargaining agreements. 

Elliot Paul Busuttil was accused of stabbing his victim 40 times. Photo: Facebook

"The court has a big backlog and the plea bargaining tool seems to be working. While it is true that the court is not bound by the plea agreement, if the courts do not accept it, it will backfire on future plea bargaining," he said. 

He added that even though there was a strong defence case, that could have potentially led to his aquittal, his client wanted to plead guilty "for closure". 

Attorney General lawyer Kevin Valletta told the court that the punishment on which there was agreement was fair, even with society and the victims.

The body of Mario Farrugia was found in the trunk of a car on April 5, 2022. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta, appearing for Marinov, and Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri, appearing for the Farrugias family, said they agreed with the proposed 35-year jail term.

Azzopardi said his client was the victim of an unprovoked aggression. He said they had met to sell a radio and was attacked, suffering a permanent disability and cannot work any longer.

Bail questions raised

The case had raised questions at the time over bail eligibility after Busuttil was able to murder someone whilst out on bail for attempted murder. 

Marinov was slashed more than 20 times with a butcher’s cleaver in a horrific frenzy of violence.  

Busuttil was charged with that attack and granted bail.

Less than two years later, Busuttil was arrested and charged in court again, this time with the gruesome killing of Farrugia, who was stabbled more than 40 times.

He was found dead three days after he was reported missing and his body was severely decomposed by the time it was discovered. 

Police officers who were alerted to the vehicle parked at Qormi valley, had told the court at previous sittings about the “strange smell…like some dead animal,” and the buzzing flies that struck them as they circled the car.

Sources had said that Farrugia and Busuttil knew each other, with the former seen driving the latter around in the Peugeot 407 car his body was eventually found inside.

There was speculation that the crime may have been sparked by a financial dispute between the two. 

His brother Joe testified in an earlier sitting how, shortly before his disappearance, Mario had voiced concern about two clients who would not pay him the agreed amount for his taxi services.

He was trying to offload them, telling his brother that he believed that the pair “were involved in drugs.”

The case has been deferred for judgment on March 5.