The parents of a young woman killed by a truck in Naxxar almost eight years ago and then placed in a plastic bag in her coffin feel they were twice denied the possibility of giving their daughter a decent, dignified burial.

Josephine and Giuseppe Boni feel “let down” and “disappointed” after a judge ruled against their arguments that their daughter was subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment when she was buried in a body bag in her coffin rather than decently dressed in the clothes they had provided.

Madam Justice Anna Felice ruled that although unfortunate, the severe nature of the injuries made it impossible to dress the body. She observed that the family was not informed about this “to spare them further pain” but ruled that this did not amount to breach of rights.

The parents had filed their case against the Mater Dei Hospital chief executive, the health minister, the state advocate and funeral undertaker Anna Falzon.

“We saw her, hugged her on the marble table in the mortuary and we have photographs from every angle. The body was intact. I could have dressed her myself had I been allowed. This is ridiculous,” Boni told Times of Malta.

I could have dressed her myself had I been allowed. This is ridiculous- Johanna Boni's mother

“I regret not taking her to Sicily where I’m sure she would have been dressed in dignity by our village undertaker. Once again, my country has betrayed me,” she continued.

Johanna Boni died when she was dragged by a cement mixer in Labour Avenue on January 5, 2016.

She was at a stop sign on her Kawasaki ER6N motorcycle on the way to work when she was run over. The driver of the left-hand drive truck, 53-year-old Carmel Cauchi, was charged with involuntary homicide and was recently cleared of the charge following a drawn-out criminal case. The decision was appealed by the attorney general and it is still pending.

Three years after the fatality that turned their lives upside down, the Bonis, who lived in Sicily, got another horrific shock when, in January last year, they discovered Johanna had been buried in a body bag placed inside the coffin.

The parents only discovered this by chance, prior to the burial of her grandfather, who was to be interred in the same grave at the Mosta cemetery. The red dress they had purchased for their daughter, a necklace and a pair of shoes were placed in the corners of the coffin.

The parents told the court that their daughter had sustained serious head injuries, but the rest of her body was intact. They had engaged Falzon to handle the funeral arrangements and provided her with clothes in which Johanna was to be buried.

Court had ‘chosen to believe lies’

On the day of the funeral, Falzon advised them not to look inside the coffin since Johanna’s head injuries were a traumatising sight. They trusted her and took her advice.

The court noted testimonies by the undertaker and several workers at the Mater Dei mortuary that the body was not in a state enabling them to dress her, so Boni was wrapped in a sheet and then placed in a body bag. The clothes, shoes and necklace were placed on top of the body bag before the coffin was closed.

Boni said the court had “chosen to believe lies” rather than relying on the photographs taken during the magisterial inquiry which show how only Johanna’s head was crushed – the remainder of her body had bruises, scratches and tyre marks on her back, she said.

Boni said that vilification of a corpse is illegal in many countries, including Italy, but the law in Malta needed to be changed.

“We live in a country where it’s easier to defend the bad than the good, the victim. The good is the truth, and the bad is the lie... the courts don’t go looking for the truth on paper, but they believe the lie... the lie is always dressed up and beautiful... the truth is hidden,” the angry mother said.

This is the second blow to the grieving parents in seven months after they were left “perplexed” last March by the court ruling that completely exonerated the truck driver of all criminal responsibility.

They embarked on a legal battle so that, apart from obtaining justice for their daughter, they ensure that no other parent will have to go through the same trauma.

“I wanted to save sadness to others too... but it backfired and after our experience nobody will dream of going to court,” she said.