The prime suspect in a Sliema double murder was wearing a gold chain stolen from one of the victims when he was arrested, a police inspector told a court.

Daniel Muka also had a pistol with six missing bullets - the exact number fired during the killing - when he was found in an abandoned residence in Floriana, inspector James Grech said. 

The lead investigator said police believe the theft was the most likely motive for the killing of the wealthy couple on August 18.

Grech was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Albanian national  Muka, 25, who denies murdering Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski inside their Sliema home.

Wearing an orange jumpsuit, a face shield and green and yellow flipflops, Muka sat quietly listening to Grech explain how he was informed about the shooting and went on site immediately.

A gun seized at the scene had the same number of bullets missing as was used in the murder. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

He said Pandolfino was found close to the entrance on the ground floor, wearing just his underpants, in a pool of blood. He had been shot five times.

His partner, Maciejowski, was found in the landing of the stairs with one shot to his forehead. The front door had leverage marks, which indicates that it was forced open. However, Muka rang the doorbell. 

He explained in detail how the police used CCTV footage to track down the suspects as they entered the Sliema house.

The getaway car was seen driving around the block until two suspects approached the house. One of them returned to the car before going back to the house accompanied by a third man.

The timeline

CCTV footage showed that Pandolfino, a former investment banker, returned home at 9.40pm. The alleged getaway vehicle, a Volkswagen Tiguan, drove past at 10.13pm and stopped at the top of the road.

At 10.19pm, a tall suspect, which Grech later identified as Muka, was seen entering the house followed by “a shorter and chubby man” wearing a surgical mask. The latter man was seen coming out and walking to the car and then back to the house with the third suspect. 

Four minutes later, the three suspects ran out to the car and sped off, driving through Sliema towards Kappara, Msida and Pieta. The car was later spotted in Guardamangia with new number plates reported stolen from Ħamrun.   

The initial licence plates on the getaway car were stolen on August 3 from a Seat Cordoba parked in St Julians. The car itself was stolen on September 14, 2018, from Gzira. The same number plates were also seen on a Peugeot 107. 

Police believe the motive of the murder of a couple in Sliema was theft. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

Grech said that he checked CCTV footage taken from the streets, several shops and passing buses which showed the three suspects leave the Guardamangia car park and walk towards an Msida bus stop. Muka entered one shop to ask for a WiFi password.

One of the ways police were able to identify Muka was because he was seen wearing an elbow support in the CCTV footage. This tallied with information from the Valletta police station where Muka was seen previously signing his bail book with a similar support.

Grech said he obtained localisation information from Muka’s mobile. It was turned off at 8.22pm and turned on again at 11.04pm when it was captured by the antenna on Bay View Hotel in Gzira and in Sliema during the rest of the night.

DNA matched suspect 

He said the DNA on a shirt found in the getaway car matched those of the two victims as well as Muka’s, while his fingerprints were also a match to those inside the car.

Grech said an informer told the police that a tall man was seen entering an abandoned building in Floriana but was not seen leaving so the police raided the building and found Muka inside.

Daniel Muka was arrested after a police raid in Floriana. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

Inside the building, among piles of rubbish, the police found two laptops, four mobile phones, and bloodied running shoes similar to the ones seen in the CCTV footage.

Answering questions by parte civile lawyers, Grech said the police still believe that theft was the motive behind the murder. He said Muka confirmed in the statement that they knew they would find valuables inside the house but the two suspects are blaming each other and are both saying the idea was not theirs. 

Upon request of the defence, the media was asked to leave the courtroom while Grech was testifying about the statement the accused released to the police. 

Magistrate Nadine Lia is presiding over the case. 

Muka was represented in court by lawyer Noel Bianco. Inspectors James Grech and Colin Sheldon prosecuted. Lawyers Joe Giglio and Roberta Bonello appeared on behalf of the victims' families.