A year since Kim Borg Nicolas Virtu died by suicide in prison, her relatives are still longing for some form of closure, saying they have spent the past 12 months “playing snakes and ladders”.
Her father, Martin, expressed his family’s anguish, as the authorities continue dragging their feet on whether to allow them to visit the Corradino Correctional Facility cell where his daughter ended her life.
Kim was found unconscious in her cell on June 16, 2021, and died at Mater Dei Hospital three weeks later.
“We’ve been at it for a year. We move a little bit forward and then three steps back. It’s like we’re playing snakes and ladders but there’s no end in sight,” her heartbroken father told Times of Malta.
“The prison authorities keep postponing our visit to the cell where Kim was being held. We are longing to see it.
“There’s absolutely no closure and we’re not any closer to getting any of it,” he added.
The death of Kim, 29, led to the suspension and eventual arraignment of two prison warders who were criminally charged over the suicide. The two have been charged with involuntary homicide and with committing a crime they were duty-bound to prevent.
They are denying the charges.
It emerged in court that Kim was hospitalised owing to self-harm just days before her fatal attempt. She had cut her wrists using a broken mirror in her cell before she was rushed to Mater Dei.
Prison authorities keep postponing our visit to the cell
Her father said he was told his daughter had made four previous suicide attempts, with the last just two days before the one that landed her in critical condition in hospital.
The young woman was serving a two-year jail term after admitting to six counts of fraud and theft.
Martin continues to believe his daughter was “driven to insanity” by the prison regime in Corradino.
Several pending court cases
There are several pending court cases surrounding his daughter’s death, including a constitutional case in which the family is claiming Kim was subjected to torture and inhumane treatment while in prison and had her fundamental human right to life breached by the state.
He said it seemed the authorities had interrogated people who were not even working when his daughter fatally harmed herself in her prison cell while others who were there and could have had a more direct involvement were not approached.
The suicide had triggered a magisterial inquiry which had gathered evidence about the circumstances surrounding the inmate’s death, ultimately directing the police authorities to take criminal action against the two warders.
The police were then advised by the attorney general to act upon the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry.
The Corradino Correctional Facility was under the spotlight last year, especially after a number of suicide attempts, which eventually led to the resignation of notorious prison director Alex Dalli.
Dalli suspended himself from his position last November, buckling under public pressure after a string of suicides and deaths behind bars saw simmering concerns about his methods boil over.
A former army colonel, Dalli had run the prison since 2018.
While he was praised for weeding out drugs from Corradino, he had consistently been under fire for his unorthodox methods of discipline.
Robert Brincau, formerly of the Red Cross, who ran detention services at the prison, succeeded Dalli.
If you need emotional support, you can call Richmond Malta’s helpline on 1770. In case of an emergency, call Mater Dei Hospital’s Crisis Intervention Service on 2545 3950. Alternatively, type OLLI. Chat on your desktop, mobile or tablet browser to chat with a professional 24/7.