A man murdered in broad daylight in Paceville was implicated in a plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham, a court heard on Friday.

The detail about Joseff Rivas emerged in court during proceedings against three men charged with having killed him last December.

All three are pleading not guilty, saying they killed Rivas in self-defence, when he and two others approached them as they were having a drink on Ross Street on December 5.

Rivas was stabbed 28 times in two minutes, in what prosecutors have said was a brawl over "prostitution". 

“It’s crucial to understand who the victim was now that the case has been ongoing for nine months,” argued defence lawyer Franco Debono when proceedings resumed on Friday against Ilie Constantin and his cousins, brothers Ionut Iulian Tanase and Dan Andrei Tanase.

“The victim had come here to attack and possibly kill them [the accused]” argued Debono, highlighting the fact that Rivas was no ordinary guy but one who had several serious charges on his criminal record.

The defence insisted on questioning prosecuting Inspector Brian Xuereb, who revealed details about Rivas’ criminal past.

Xuereb explained that, according to information he looked up following Rivas’ murder, the victim had himself been found guilty of murder and had subsequently escaped from custody, triggering a European Arrest Warrant in his regard.

Scotland Yard had also investigated a botched operation involving Rivas to kidnap celebrity Victoria Beckham, with the intention being to demand a €7 million ransom, went on Xuereb.

There was also some information linked to Rivas about a planned robbery of Sotheby’s auction house.

Asked about the victim’s stature, Xuereb said that the man he had seen lying down in hospital was “large-statured” and confirmed that the accused were “smaller” in comparison.

AG lawyer Darlene Grima pointed out that the case about Rivas’ murder was still at the compilation stage and the prosecution could not simply produce evidence sourced through internet but had to obtain that evidence through the proper channels.

That was why investigations took time.

But police were working efficiently and all evidence would be produced at the opportune moment, concluded the prosecution lawyer.

The court, presided over by magistrate Astrid May Grima, urged the prosecution to exhibit the evidence sought by the defence as soon as it was in hand.

During Friday’s lengthy session, a police officer from the homicide squad ran the court through information obtained when examining footage linked to the crime scene.

Video footage showed the three suspects walking to a nearby apartment, one of them holding a knife and apparently blood-stained.

They entered an apartment block, leaving drops of blood along the common area leading up to a first-floor flat.

Soon after entering the flat, a woman came out from the same place and tried to wipe away those blood marks. Then the three men walked out again, wearing different clothes except for Constantin, who appeared to be wearing the same clothes as before.

Three women, carrying a suitcase, followed soon afterwards, leaving the flat quickly and rather furtively.

The suspects then caught a cab out of Paceville.

All three turned themselves in at the St Julian’s police station some 14 hours after the murder. Ionut Tanase subsequently went with police to the Paceville apartment, which he accessed using a pin code.

There were blood stains in the common parts and also inside the flat where a grey hoodie, matching that seen in the footage, was found.

Ionut Tanase later went with investigators to another property where the suspects had gone after the incident.

He explained that he had thrown the knife out of the bathroom window. That weapon was never recovered.

The court also heard lengthy submissions on bail in respect of Andrei who, the defence claimed, “hardly featured in the acts of the case.”

A witness who had sublet an apartment to Andrei and his mother was called to testify.

The court is expected to decree on bail at the next sitting in October.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Charmaine Cherrett, Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri are defence counsel.