The daughter of a 77-year-old British tourist killed in a hit-and-run accident in Qawra eight years ago has spoken out about the “torture” her family is going through due to court delays and countless adjournments that saw her mother’s case drag on unnecessarily.

“Time passed, but for us, as a family, that time has been torture. We’re still here waiting for justice. I’m speaking out to raise awareness that there’s a family behind these cases that take so long. I can honestly say it’s the last thing I think about when I go to bed, and the first thing in the morning,” says Liz Gibson, 60.

Her mother, Elizabeth Tucknutt Whilems – who she is named after – was run over by a speeding car in Qawra on June 26, 2011, while on holiday.

Ms Tucknutt Whilems was crossing the road with her 78-year-old husband Maurice – who passed away two years later – when a car zoomed past.

Two days after the accident, Mel Spiteri, 18 at the time, was charged with her involuntary homicide and, three years later, he was found guilty and condemned to a two-year jail term, a €2,330 fine and a one-year driving ban.

Mr Spiteri appealed and, last week, the Court of Criminal Appeal declared the Magistrates’ Court’s conviction null due to a technicality (the charges upon which the conviction was based were not listed in the final part of the judgment). The case was sent back to the Magistrates’ Court. As a result, the family will have to wait even longer.

“It’s been eight years and we haven’t got closure yet… we struggled with the length of time it has taken to get to this point and the number of adjournments that were allowed. We find the whole process very, very frustrating.

“The most upsetting thing is that we’ve got to this point and only now has the judge identified something technical,” Ms Gibson says, adding that she and her husband, Peter, had often travelled to Malta to attend sittings that were adjourned without consequence.

There’s a family behind these cases that take so long

“I understand they have to make sure all legalities are covered and be fair to the person being prosecuted. But the process shouldn’t take so long. We are virtually forgotten in the background,” says Ms Gibson, who has two sons, Neil and Mark, who “adored the grandmother who was taken away from them”.

In June 2011, Ms Gibson and her husband joined her parents on a holiday to Malta.

Her father had been stationed in Malta as a navy officer and had a passion for the island – which is why her family had been coming to Malta for decades – and had made close friends on the island.

On the day of the accident, a Sunday, they had gone out for dinner.

Then, Ms Gibson and her husband – who were staying in an apartment – dropped her parents off at the Qawra Palace Hotel. The plan was to meet them later that evening for tea at the hotel. But, when they arrived, there was no one in the room so they returned to the apartment, thinking her parents may have gone to one of the hotel’s shows.

A few minutes later, the hotel manager called Ms Gibson at the apartment and told her there had been an accident. They rushed back to the hotel.

“I could see all the lights. The road was cordoned off and I could see something on the floor. But I didn’t realise it was my mum,” Ms Gibson, an only child, said through sobs.

“Then we went in the hotel… the police said my father was upstairs with a policeman. When we saw him he was covered in blood.”

That day marked the beginning of the endless court sittings and countless adjournments.

Ms Gibson’s father took the witness stand during the arraignment of Mr Spiteri. Mr Whilems said that he and his wife were crossing the road in front of the hotel. He had just passed the halfway mark with his wife a step ahead of him opposite the hotel door when there was a “burst of headlights” and a thump.

The car, he testified, went so fast and everything happened so quickly that his first thought was his wife was still crossing the road.

He then turned and at first did not recognise his wife’s body because she was some 40 metres away. He was then taken into the hotel in shock and a doctor who happened to be on hand went to administer first aid. He was later told she passed away.

Mr Whilems died two years later.

“He was very depressed after my mother died,” Ms Gibson says.

“He couldn’t bring himself to return to Malta… almost two years to date after the accident, my husband and I came to Malta for a court sitting planned for July 10.

“On the eve we received a call informing us my father had passed. The following day, the court case was adjourned… I know you’re not going to keep your parents forever. But she did not deserve to die in such violent circumstances.”