A man who was stabbed to death in Paceville had served jail time for violent crime in two other countries, a court heard on Thursday.

Police Inspector Kurt Zahra told the court that Joseff Rivas was sentenced to jail on three separate occasions in his home countries, Romania and the United Kingdom – in 2007, 2010 and 2017.

He was jailed for 27 months in 2007, three years in 2010 and four years in 2017 for robbery and grievous bodily harm. 

Rivas was stabbed in Paceville on December 5, 2022, during a knife fight allegedly triggered by a row over prostitution.

The case concerns a violent incident that broke out in broad daylight when Rivas and two other men approached the trio who were having a drink outside a cafeteria on Ross Street.

An argument ensued over some prostitution-related earnings and the situation escalated into a full-blown fight during which Rivas was fatally stabbed.

The victim was a suspected member of a Romanian criminal group, allegedly sent to kill the three accused, believed to be “pimps”, a court previously heard.

Rivas was stabbed “20 or more” times, with forensic pathologists saying that three of those blows proved fatal.

Romanian nationals Ilie Constantin and his cousins, brothers Ionut Iulian Tanase and Dan Andrei Tanase, deny his wilful homicide. They are arguing that they acted in self-defence.

Zahra took the witness stand during the compilation of evidence against the three men to present a detailed conviction sheet pertaining to Rivas. 

According to information obtained from police in Romania and the UK, where Rivas resided, all his convictions were related to the same crimes – offences against the person and grievous bodily harm. Zahra said that the list did not feature any pending cases but he said there were no alerts when he searched the victim’s name in the police database.

A police officer from the Rapid Intervention Unit testified about finding the victim lying on the pavement and unresponsive, with blood oozing out of his back and neck.

The court on Thursday also heard testimonies of scene of crime officers who described how they were assigned to take photographs of the scene as well as two searches in apartments in St Julian’s and Marsascala, from where they took blood samples and passed them on to the court-appointed experts for DNA testing.

In the kitchen of the St Julian’s apartment, officers found, photographed and seized a wet grey hoodie from inside a bin, as well as a knife found on the kitchen sink. These were also sent for testing. 

The case, presided over by magistrate Astrid May Grima, continues.

AG lawyers Kaylie Bonnet and Darlene Grima prosecuted, together with Inspectors Kurt Zahra and Brian Xuereb.

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