Updated 4.45pm

Roderick Cassar had vowed "revenge" in a social media post as he believed his estranged wife Bernice was having an affair with a work colleague, a court hearing the case against him for her murder has been told.

The Facebook post was shown to police by her work colleague the day before the murder took place as the mother-of-two drove to work in Corradino on November 22. 

"Revenge is a must", Cassar had written on the post.

The detail emerged at a hearing in which the court declared that there was sufficient prima facie evidence for the accused to stand trial on indictment. 

A police officer told the court that the work colleague had shown him the message because he felt defamed by the accusation that he was having an affair.

“But faced with such a message, didn’t you feel that you ought to follow up," asked presiding Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, pointing out that officers at district offices were “front liners” who had direct contact with those who turned to them for a solution. 

“At the time, I advised him to seek advice from a lawyer about the alleged defamation,” answered officer Cyril Butters. 

Mother-of-two Bernice Cassar was shot dead not far from her work in Corradino, Paola. Photo: Facebook

Gun shots and grip marks

Monday’s lengthy court session began with testimony by medico-legal expert Mario Scerri who explained that the victim had suffered two wounds that were both potentially fatal, both fired at close range but not equidistant. 

The first was likely fired close to the victim’s neck, making “quasi tight but not tight contact,” likely aimed at the left side of the chin. 

Basing himself on the ballistic wounds, Scerri said that it appeared that that shot was fired at the level of the neck, upwards, possibly indicating that the victim had been standing at the time. 

The second shot to the left side of the chest was fired at a rather acute angle to the victim when she was likely on the ground. 

A few centimetres away from the victim’s feet the expert had noted a small crater on the road surface, indicative of a third shot that had hit the asphalt. 

There were lesions on the her neck were likely caused by the pellets and other marks that may have been caused by her body falling to the ground. 

But two parallel marks on the back of her arms were compatible with grip marks. 

Forensic experts at the murder scene. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Franco Debono, Scerri excluded “100%” that the victim had been beaten by her aggressor.

“Could those grip marks have been caused as she was being lifted into the car?”asked the lawyer. 

“Yes, it could be,” replied Scerri. 

'I killed her'

On the day of the shooting, a female acquaintance of the estranged couple had been alarmed by a Facebook status posted by the accused, wherein he addressed his children saying that “he could not live without them” and finishing off with, “Sorry. Till we meet again.”

The woman was also summoned to testify on Monday, her name banned by the court upon a request by the prosecution so as to safeguard the witness. 

That morning she had just got up when she spotted that post. 

She knew both Bernice and Roderick since she had been in a long-term relationship with a family relative time ago. 

She instinctively rushed to call the accused, worrying that he might contemplate committing suicide.

As soon as she dialled his number, Roderick answered her call, saying, “I killed her.” 

He was grateful for the witness’s concern and also insisted that he did not want to end up in jail. 

Then he abruptly cut off, saying he wanted to call his brother. 

That call lasted one and a half minutes and during a part of it, the witness’s phone lay on the floor where she dropped it in shock as soon as the accused told her that he had killed his wife. 

“My hands and feet went numb when I heard that,” said the woman.

All she wanted was to make sure that the accused did not take his own life and when she heard his voice, she was reassured that he was still alive. 

Accused sought psychiatric help

Psychiatrist Beppe Micallef Trigona, who had assessed the suspect at the lock up after his arrest, recalled that the man was clearly affected by the events of the last preceding hours.

He had been seeking psychiatric help from a private specialist and told the witness that he had last seen his doctor in June.

He suffered from claustrophobia and being kept locked up in a cell was adding to his anxiety. 

However, the patient satisfied all criteria to face interrogation as well as criminal charges and was certified accordingly that morning on November 23. 

Roderick Cassar was arrested by police after a stand-off at his Qrendi home. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Later that afternoon, the psychiatrist received a call from Superintendent Keith Arnaud who explained that the suspect seemed to be “hearing voices”  in his cell. 

A second examination that afternoon showed that Cassar was suffering from stress and had not slept much but had no hallucinations. 

Again he was certified as fit to face interrogation and charges, said the witness, clarifying that he had not assessed the patient’s mental state at the time of the commission of the alleged crime. 

The murder weapon

Two ballistics experts meanwhile presented their joint report on Monday, along with the murder weapon, which was similar to a hunting rifle but with a much shorter barrel and no butt.

They said the cartridges were loaded and released through a ‘pump action’ repeatedly after each shot, and since the firearm had no butt to position it firmly on the shoulder, the man had to fire “from the hip”. 

There were splatters of blood on the mudguard of the victim’s vehicle as well as on third-party vehicles parked nearby. 

The shots appeared to have been fired at a distance of some 60 centimeters, certainly not more than 90 centimeters, went on one of the experts, adding that they had carried out tests using paper targets. 

The cartridges, manufactured by a factory in Connecticut, appeared not to have been modified. 

Answering questions by the defence, the expert confirmed that no shots had been fired at the victim’s vehicle. 

Inspector Lydon Zammit, from the Major Crimes Unit, testified about how he had moved from the site of the suspected shooting, opposite the back entrance to the MCAST institute in Paola, to the suspect’s home at Qrendi. 

There, John Cassar was on the phone, trying to calm down his brother, urging him to surrender and go outside. 

Police officers looked into an animal feed sack lying inside the suspect’s car and confirmed that the suspected murder weapon was not there, meaning that it was likely inside Cassar’s home. Phone localisation data indicated that by 9.42am, Cassar’s phone was at Qrendi.

'Bernice opened up after Mother's Day'

Another person who took the witness stand on Monday, and who described herself as “friend, colleague and family” of the murder victim for the past 16 years – Daniela Aquilina - testified that the mother-of-two had initially not opened up about her marital troubles. 

But that changed after Mother’s Day, when she left home, pouring out her problems to her friends the next day when she turned up at work.

Bernice had told them how her husband had put a knife to her throat.

“I had to escape,” she said. 

From then on, she “went all out” telling her mates about how her husband had “flung some plates” during an argument on New Year’s Eve in the presence of their children. 

Another time he turned up at the Floriana polyclinic where she had taken the kids to be vaccinated, kicking up a scene that scared the kids. 

The witness also presented a copy of messages exchanged with Bernice.

Answering questions by the defence, she said that she had removed messages concerning her own “personal” matters.

The court observed that such data would be preserved and analysed by a court expert. 

The case continues in January. 

AG lawyers Angele Vella and Darlene Grima are assisting Inspectors Wayne Camilleri, Shaun Pawney and Paul Camilleri in prosecuting. 

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Arthur Azzopardi are defence counsel.

Lawyers Stefano Filletti, Marita Pace Dimech, Ann Marie Cutajar and Rodianne Sciberras appeared parte civile.