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3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 30 NOVEMBER 2022 NEWS pened over the past few years. "The inquiry appointed by the minister has to point out what went wrong; what the failings were… and we then have to implement the report's conclu- sions," the Prime Minister said. Retired judge Geoffrey Va- lenzia was appointed to carry out an independent inquiry into the murder and the find- ings should be presented by mid-December. Abela said a holistic reform was required, especially in the context of having 1,000 crimi- nal cases every year related to domestic violence. The Bernard Grech 'agreement' On the lack of consensus be- tween government and the Op- position over the appointment of former chief justice Joseph Azzopardi as standards com- missioner, Abela said the prob- lem was Bernard Grech. "The disagreement that exists is between Bernard Grech and the PN, because between Ber- nard Grech and Robert Abela there was agreement, once, and even twice," the Prime Minis- ter said. He criticised Grech for not motivating the Opposition's decision to oppose Azzopardi's nomination. "Bernard Grech had told me that he preferred retired judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, who has been nominated for om- budsman, and Azzopardi to in- vert roles but he could live with it. Then he went back to con- sult with his group and came back with a 'no'," Abela said. The roles of ombudsman and standards commissioner require a two-thirds majority in parliament to be approved. Given the impasse ove Azzo- pardi's name, the government has moved ahead to introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism. Abela defended government's actions in this regard. "The choice was to leave the stand- ards commissioner post vacant and this was not something we wanted, or introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism to break the stalemate. However, consensus remains the better option." ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt NICOLE MEILAK RODERICK Cassar showed no remorse during interrogations over his wife's mur- der, police testified in court on Tuesday. The compilation of evidence against Roderick Cassar started on Tuesday with Inspector Wayne Camilleri testifying on the day of the crime and Cassar's arrest. Cassar is accused of murdering his wife Bernice in the first case since femicide was introduced in the Criminal Code. "We had no doubt on the cause of death, but what was interesting is that the fatal shot was the shot to the face, not the first shot on her chest," Camilleri explained. He said that the biggest issue during the police operation to arrest Roderick Cas- sar was his children. At the time, police weren't sure if the children were at school or with their father inside the apartment. Eventually, police confirmed that his children were at school, meaning Cassar was probably alone at home. Cassar was arrested in his Qrendi apart- ment after a 17-hour stand-off with po- lice. The Special Intervention Unit (SIU) made a forced entry into his apartment at around 2am. "I want to explain why the operation took so long," he said in court. Camilleri explained that police were communicat- ing with Cassar, who was still in posses- sion of the firearm he is alleged to have murdered his wife with. "Roderick Cassar started to say that he was suicidal and wanted to kill himself but was too scared to do so. He wanted police to do it for him," Camilleri said. During interrogation, Camilleri said that in his statement, Cassar had said he was sorry for what had happened to his wife and the nothing else. But then he added "in my opinion, he showed no emotion". The defence immediately ob- jected to his use of opinion, and presiding magistrate Joseph Mifsud agreed. However, the magistrate clarified his point. "You can say that he didn't show emotion, but not as an opinion." The case was presided over by Mag- istrate Joseph Mifsud. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared as defence counsel for Cassar. Lawyers Angele Vella and Anthony Vella appeared on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General. Inspector Wayne Camilleri was present on behalf of the Commissioner for Police. Cassar, 42, from Qrendi, stands charged of murdering Bernice Cassar, when he shot her at the Corradino industrial es- tate last week while she was heading to work. Bernice was hit in the face and chest and died on the spot. Roderick Cassar pleaded not guilty. The couple had two young children, who were at school when the murder happened. Bernice Cassar had filed several reports of domestic violence against her hus- band and even moved out of the family home with her children in May. On the eve of her murder, she had filed another police report, claiming her husband had breached a protection order issued by the court in July. Roderick Cassar was arrested after a 17-hour standoff with police after he locked himself up inside his house. Po- lice eventually raided the house and Cas- sar was arrested and the weapon alleg- edly used in the murder, a shotgun, was seized. Roderick Cassar was charged with wil- ful femicide, holding his victim against her will, using violence, including moral and psychological violence, using a fire- arm while committing a crime and pos- session of a firearm without permit. Oth- er charges include stealing the victim's mobile phone and car key, and the wilful damage to her property and threatening a bystander. This is the first time that femicide is being used as an aggravating offence in a court of law after it was introduced in the Criminal Code earlier this year, following the New Year's Day murder of Paulina Dembska. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel. Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Marita Pace Dimech are appearing parte civile for the victim's family. Prosecution said Cassar said 'sorry', but did not show any remorse "Roderick Cassar started to say that he was suicidal and wanted to kill himself but was too scared to do so. He wanted police to do it for him." Bernice Cassar was killed by two shotgun shots by her husband. Roderick Cassar

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