Updated 7.45pm with details

Two men who stand accused of a murder in 2005 assaulted their victim as she was loitering on a Marsa street before they dragged her to a nearby field and killed her, prosecutors charged on Monday.

The badly decomposed body of Sion Grech was found over a week later, in a field full of marigolds close to the HSBC bank branch in Marsa. She had been stabbed more than 17 times in the neck and chest.

Ismael Habesh and Faical Mohouachi were first questioned within days of that gruesome discovery, but were only charged with the crime in 2013.

The compilation of evidence against them dragged on for years, as lawyers filed legal challenges to statements before the constitutional courts.

On Monday, jurors were sworn in and a court started hearing the trial of the two men, 18 years after the murder. Judge Aaron Bugeja is presiding.

Grieving family members of Grech's at the scene of the crime in April 2005, after the body was found. Photo: Jason Borg

Grech used the pronouns she/her. Given that she was murdered years before the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act of 2015, she is listed in legal documents as a male named Simon. Previous court reports stated that she was also known as Simone. 

During the compilation of evidence, police officers testified that Grech worked as a prostitute in the Marsa area, close to where she was found killed.

A court heard that she and Habesh were in a romantic relationship, with Grech allegedly pressuring Habesh to leave his wife so that they could elope.

Lawyer Anthony Vella, who is prosecuting together with lawyer Abigail Caruana Vella from the Attorney General’s office, explained the legal process to jurors and ran them through the evidence they would be hearing throughout the trial.

That included the testimony of police officers who investigated the case as well that of experts who had been appointed by the inquiring magistrate.

Vella went through the four charges in the bill of indictment, three of which were common for both accused and one which applied only to Habesh.

According to evidence heard during the compilation of evidence against the two, it resulted that Sion Grech was loitering for prostitution purposes on April 5, 2005.

A car with the two accused stopped, Habesh got out and started punching and kicking her. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground. Mahouachi also got out of the vehicle to assist him. They grabbed her and took her to a field opposite where they stabbed her until they killed her, the jurors were told.

Grech's body was found by the police on April 13 , hidden in the grass. The autopsy revealed that Grech had been stabbed at least 17 times, which caused her death.

The investigation revealed that Grech was not armed. Vella said that Grech had a homosexual orientation, was addicted to drugs and was a prostitute to support the addiction.

He said that one of the accused, Habesh, had a relationship with Grech even though he was married to a woman. This was not a happy relationship since the two often argued over drugs and money that Grech earned from prostitution.

The prosecutor added that Habesh was often physically violent with Grech.

Vella said the car that was being used on the night of the murder had been reported stolen from Qawra some five days before and Habesh had been caught driving it.

At the end of the prosecution’s address, jurors were asked to leave the hall so that the prosecution and defence could discuss logistics related to witnesses. The trial will continue on Tuesday.

Lawyers Edward Gatt and Ishmael Psaila are defence counsel to Habesh while lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace is defending Mahouachi.

Lawyer Roberto Montaldo is appearing as parte civile for the Grech family.