Years after Lino Cauchi’s mysterious disappearance back in February 1982, police received information indicating the accountant might have been shot at Valletta, buried in the soil around Chadwick Lakes and his body later dismembered before being disposed of inside a Buskett well where the remains were discovered in November 1985.

Further light was shed on the possible sequence of events leading up to that gruesome discovery and the criminal investigations surrounding it, in ongoing constitutional proceedings filed by Cauchi’s heirs who, 38 years down the line, are still hoping for justice over what they call an unsolved “barbaric political murder”.

The widow and son of the accountant are claiming that his murder remains a “cold” case because the authorities lacked the will to properly investigate it and now have no choice but to seek compensation from the state.

When testifying via videoconferencing before Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale, now-retired police commissioner John Rizzo said he first ventured into investigations concerning the Cauchi case in 1996 when, as CID inspector he was chosen to form part of a joint commission with officers from the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) along with other fellow colleagues.

That commission, specifically tasked with investigating ‘cold’ cases, particularly the Karen Grech and Lino Cauchi murders, also enabled Maltese investigators to gain valuable innovative techniques adopted by their foreign counterparts.

Information about Cauchi’s mysterious murder kept trickling in.

Among that was information about the way the victim may have met his fate on that February evening in the Camerata area of Valletta where a revolver, allegedly placed to his head, went off.

His body was then buried in the area of Chadwick Lakes but after a heavy rainfall, the soil cover was washed away, unearthing the corpse which was subsequently removed, transported to a chicken farm, dismembered and then dumped in a well in a secluded spot at Buskett.

Other information reached Rizzo before his appointment as police commissioner in 2001, through a report filed by Joe Pace, owner of Magic Kiosk, about a business issue he had with land dealer Piju Camilleri.

Pace told former police inspector Pierre Calleja that he had information that could help them solve the Cauchi murder, going on to recount an incident which had taken place some two months before the accountant’s disappearance.

During a business meeting at a Valletta office, Pace claimed to have overheard Camilleri threaten Cauchi, saying, “Now I’ll show you.” (Issa nurik)

Following that episode, Pace himself had some disagreement over a business deal with former minister Lorry Sant who had allegedly warned, “Do as I tell you or else I will tell Piju Camilleri to do as he did to Lino Cauchi.”

“I gave that information maximum importance,” testified Rizzo, explaining how all persons named by Pace – except Sant who had died in 1995 – had been summoned for questioning.

Do as I tell you or else I will tell Piju Camilleri to do as he did to Lino Cauchi- Lorry Sant’s alleged threat

Police spoke to Camilleri and upon that fresh information had re-arrested him and had presented all fresh information before the inquiring magistrate. Camilleri has always denied the link to the murder.

A note in the police file, read out in court by lawyer Peter Fenech who is representing the Cauchi family, indicated the magistrate had expressed the view that the accountant “almost certainly died because he knew too much”.

Asked by State Advocate Chris Soler whether former police commissioner Lawrence Pullicino took instructions from third parties, including politicians, or whether he worked under pressure, Rizzo said he believed Pullicino was not the type of person to be influenced by third parties or people in politics.

As for Pullicino’s relationship with former home affairs minister Sant, the two did not seem to be on the best of terms.

Earlier in this week’s sitting, former police inspector Angelo Caruana also testified, recalling how the Cauchi case “caused a stir” after the discovery of the human remains in 1985.

Lino Cauchi disappeared in February 1982.

He was asked about a former principal at the Inland Revenue department who had turned up outside Cauchi’s home two days after the victim’s disappearance, asking for documents which were handed over by the accountant’s wife.

“Did you investigate him? He stuttered in his replies under police questioning… He asked Cauchi’s wife to hand over the briefcase… He later requested a cheque to be drawn out in the name of a lawyer. Wasn’t that strange?” asked Fenech.

“All that I did and all that I reasoned out at the time is recorded in writing.”

Fenech also made reference to a report sent by the Metropolitan Police to local police authorities after work by the joint commission had stopped, explaining that the demands of the Karen Grech investigation meant that they were unable to pursue investigations into the Cauchi case any further.

However, from an examination of the papers and discussions with the interested parties it appeared that the Malta Police Force enquiries into the case “were far from thorough.”

A sizeable number of documents which were still at Cauchi’s home and which were flagged to the task squad from Scotland Yard in 1996 by his widow, were only then gathered by investigators. Meanwhile, questions into how the victim’s car had ended up outside his home shortly after his disappearance remain unanswered.

The case continues.

Lawyers Peter Fenech and Elena Fenech are representing the heirs.