36-year-old Etienne Bartolo from Birkirkara was arraigned before the courts today charged with the homicide of Roderick Grech who succumbed to the injuries this morning.
Bartolo, better known as 'Il-Vojt', pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. He was also charged with carrying knife in public and breaching public peace.
The victim, 26-year-old Roderick Grech was found unconscious in Triq Tumas Fenech in Birkirkara. He was lying next to a car which still had the engine running. It appears Grech was stabbed in his chest.
During the arraignment, it emerged that the victim was known to the police and had received a suspended sentence for a hold-up in 2012. Inspector Kurt Zahra told the court that the police had found the victim's car in the middle of the road. His last communication had been with the accused, he said. He explained that a person who had given the victim first aid had told the police that he had heard the victim say something indistinct about "il-Vojt."
The inspector told Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras that Grech had met Bartolo to sell drugs, but Bartolo hadn't paid up. When they met to pay the next day, a fight broke out and Grech was stabbed several times, running out of his car asking for help.
Defence counsel did not ask for bail.
Police Inspectors Silvio Valletta and Kurt Zahra are leading the prosecution. Lawyer Franco Debono and Yanika Vidal appeared for Grech's family.
from The Malta Independent http://ift.tt/2nSoQ8B
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