Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1098850
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MARCH 2019 MASSIMO COSTA TWO women who had been missing since Tuesday were found dead by the police in the early hours yesterday. Marija Lourdes Bonnici, 70, and her daughter Angele Bon- nici, 28, were found shot and partially buried in a field on the outskirts of Gudja follow- ing a police search on Friday night. The two women were last seen at 7am on 26 March at their residence in Ghaxaq and were reported missing on Wednesday afternoon. Police sources who spoke to MaltaToday said Joseph Bonnici, the son of Marija Lourdes Bonnici, had been ar- rested in connection with the case, and was believed to have committed the murder. The two women were found shot and partially buried in a field during a search of the rural area between Santa Lu- cija and Gudja, which was undertaken after various in- dividuals were questioned by the police. A family member is reported to have provided the police with information, leading to the discovery of the body. Investigators said it did not appear as though the two women were killed at the lo- cation where their bodies were found. A magisterial inquiry, led by magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, has been appointed. The murder is not the first instance of violent crime in the Bonnici family. Maria Lourdes's husband, Paul, was jailed for 31 years in 2005 after being found guilty of shooting and killing his neighbours Jo- seph and Carmela Dalli. The man had regularly ar- gued with his neighbours and, on May 2000, shot the couple outside their home. During the trial, the court was in- formed that Paul Bonnici had reloaded his gun and shot the two in the head at point-blank range. The police had gone to the house next door, where Bonnici was found waiting with a shotgun containing two spent cartridges. There was a general sense of shock among friends of Ange- le Bonnici on Facebook, who posted photos of the young woman in happier days. NEWS Send suggestions to reforms@gov.mt by Tuesday 21 st of May 2019 A PUBLIC CONSULTATION ABOUT POSITIVE MEASURES FOR THE UNDER-REPRESENTED SEX IN PARLIAMENT It's time for change. WOMEN WERE GRANTED THE RIGHT TO VOTE ONLY 10 FEMALE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT 1947 Be part of the change 2019 Access the document on www.reforms.gov.mt Son arrested over gruesome murder of mother and sister Suspect Joseph Bonnici (left) with his sister Angele Bonnici (right) and inset, mother Marija Lourdes Bonnici THREE teenagers were yesterday charged with commandeering a com- mercial tanker and forcing it to change course to Malta. The Turkish tanker 'El Hiblu 1' was taken over by a group of migrants among a larger group of 108 it rescued from within Libya's search and rescue region on Wednesday. The migrants reportedly threatened the crew and forced it to change course once they realised they would be re- turned to Libya, where they were sure they would face persecution. The three youths, aged 15, 16 and 19, appeared before duty magistrate Dona- tella Frendo Dimech to face charges of having unlawfully seized control of the ship, which under Maltese law is pun- ishable by a prison sentence of between seven and 30 years in prison. Two of the teenagers are from Guinea and a third from the Ivory Coast. All three said in court that they were stu- dents. Bail was requested but was denied by the court, which noted that witnesses were yet to testify and also that the ac- cused had no ties to Malta. Omar Zam- mit and Christa Armeni prosecuted while Cedric Mifsud, Gianluca Cappitta and Neil Falzon were counsel to the ac- cused. A ban on the publication of the names of the two minors was imposed. The tanker was boarded by the Armed Forces of Malta to wrest back control of the ship, at about 30 nautical miles from Malta. The captain of the El Hiblu 1 was also kept under custody at the Floriana lock- up on Friday, over suspicions that he may have been a party to the diversion. An expert in human smuggling told MaltaToday that it was unlikely that such a large ship was directly impli- cated in a smuggling operation for just 100 migrants. "It is unlikely that he cut a money deal with the migrants there and then. How would they pay him? They almost never carry cash with them… I think he panicked, maybe the migrants made threatening gestures and he over- read them. They were a crew of six, so I don't blame him for being conserva- tive." NGO Sea-Eye said only the Libyan Coast Guard was expected to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, which it said put crew members of the El Hiblu 1 in a difficult situation. "The rescued persons have gone through hell and are now facing completely overwhelmed and unprepared crew members of a cargo ship." Three teens charged with El Hiblu 'hijack'