The parents of Johanna Boni, the motorcyclist killed by a cement truck in Naxxar seven years ago then buried in a plastic bag, are “perplexed” by the court ruling that completely exonerated the truck driver of all criminal responsibility.

“We are not after the pound of flesh. I have no interest in seeing the driver going to jail. But we want the truth,” said

Johanna’s mother, Josephine, as she called on the attorney general to file an appeal.

Last Tuesday, the truck driver was cleared of criminal negligence in causing the death of Johanna, 27, with the court ruling that a miscalculated manoeuvre by the motorcyclist when she tried to overtake the heavy vehicle had contributed to the fatal impact.

“My daughter was very cautious. Evidence has shown that she was at a stop sign when she was killed. She certainly was not completely to blame… There were various witnesses during the case and this boils down to the interpretation and evaluation of that evidence. This court judgment has made us feel like our daughter’s life has no value in the eyes of the Maltese courts,” she said.

The scene of the accident in Labour Avenue. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Johanna was at a stop sign on her motorcycle, a Kawasaki ER6N, when she was run over. She had been on her way to work when the accident happened.

Carmel Cauchi, then 53, was driving a heavily loaded left-hand drive truck down Labour Avenue, Naxxar. Seven years later, the driver was cleared by the courts.

“Rather than getting closure after seven years, we are left more perplexed and confused than before,” the mother said.

The compilation of evidence started being heard by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja and then moved to Magistrate Nadine Lia when Bugeja became a judge.

“Once again, I feel that my country betrayed me. The life of my daughter is worth less than that of a goldfish in a pond: first it was the way she was buried and now this judgment,” she said.

Johanna Boni with Daryl Cauchi in a hot-air balloon in Turkey.

After losing their daughter under tragic circumstances, the parents got another terrible shock in January 2019 when they discovered she had been buried in a body bag placed inside the coffin.

The parents only discovered this by chance, prior to the burial of Johanna’s grandfather who was to be interred in the same grave at the Mosta cemetery.

The red dress they had purchased for Johanna to be buried in as well as a necklace and a pair of shoes were placed in the corners of the coffin.

The parents then started an unprecedented legal battle, which is also still pending before the courts, for their daughter to be given a proper burial.

They say the only reason they continue to fight their legal battles, apart from obtaining justice for their daughter, is to ensure that no other parent will have to go through the same trauma.