Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/651042
2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 9 MARCH 2016 News Carmel Cutajar sentenced to seven and a half years for excusable attempted homicide Jury finds ex-policeman guilty of excusable attempted homicide of estranged wife MATTHEW AGIUS CARMEL Cutajar was yesterday sentenced to seven and a half years for excusable attempted homicide, from which the time he had spent in custody is to be deducted. Ms Justice Edwina Grima, pre- siding the trial, said the court "could not ignore the minimum verdict and the accused's clean criminal record". The jury concluded that Cuta- jar was guilty of attempted homicide, rendered excusable as it had been committed "under the first transport of a sudden passion as a result of which he was incapable of ref lecting." He was also ordered to pay €6,500 in costs. The trial by jury of the former policeman came to an end with Ms Justice Grima having com- pleted her summing up of the evidence and arguments pre- sented to the jury over the past eight days. Cutajar, 51, of Rabat, pleaded not guilty to the attempted mur- der of his wife, seriously injur- ing her, carrying an unlicensed firearm and committing a crime he was duty bound to prevent when he shot her once in the chest on 26 September, 2012. On that day, Cutajar showed up at the Point-de-Vue guesthouse in Saqqajja where his estranged wife, Maria, was working. The couple, who have two children, had an argument outside the restaurant before the ac- cused shot Maria Cutajar in the chest. She ran into the restaurant screaming for help. Cutajar drove off and turned himself in at the nearest police station. He was taken to hospital, having shot himself once in the chest. Lawyers for Cutajar yesterday objected strongly when pros- ecutors tried to get included in the sample verdicts handed to the jurors, the aggravating fac- tor that arises from the fact that the accused and his victim were husband and wife. Defence lawyer Edward Gatt pointed out that this had not been mentioned in the bill of in- dictment, nor during the course of proceedings until yesterday morning, after both parties' submissions were closed. Cutajar is indicted for the crime of wilful homicide to which no aggravating factors apply. The attorney general is ar- guing that this offence includes in it the less grave crimes of grievous and very grievous bod- ily harm, and that at law, bodily harm is aggravated if commit- ted on a close family member – the definition of which includes persons who have had children together. If the jury does not find Cuta- jar guilty of wilful homicide, but guilty of the lesser charge of grievous bodily harm, this ag- gravating factor would bring the maximum possible punishment up from four years in prison to nine. "The AG is requesting an aggravating factor be added to the principal accusation in the bill of indictment and the subordinate crimes. That the prosecutor is ask- ing for this at the final stages of the trial, when the court has almost concluded its final address, is a dangerous atti- tude," Gatt argued. He argued that the court, al- beit differently presided, had already decided the issue in Republic of Malta vs Pasquali- no Cefai, which had been con- firmed on appeal last October. That day the court held that the changes requested had not been included up to the closing of submissions and not debated in court, and should not be in- cluded in the sample verdict. After retiring to her chambers brief ly to consider the prosecu- tion's request, Ms Justice Grima turned it down, saying it was ev- ident from the start of the trial that Carmel and Maria Cutajar were husband and wife and the jury had not been told that this could affect the punishment. Adding it at this stage would cause serious prejudice to the defendant as he had no opportu- nity to rebut it, the court held. With regard to the accusation of attempted wilful homicide, the judge instructed jurors to first consider the accused's intention. If they felt it was homicidal, then they were to look at the attempt. If they felt that there was no homicidal in- tent, they were to consider the lesser charge of grievous bodily harm. Irrespective of whether attempted homicide or bodily harm are chosen, they were then to decide if the excusing factors applied. Man cleared of assault on police due to insanity MATTHEW AGIUS A court has cleared a man of a number of charges in connection with an assault on police officers in Vittoriosa, after medical experts testified that the man suffered from a chronic mental illness that affect- ed his will. The accused, whose name is sub- ject to a ban on publication, was charged with assaulting and threat- ening police constables, violently resisting arrest, causing slight in- juries to an officer, breaching the peace and disobeying police orders on 27 December last year in Triq it- Torri San Gwann, Vittoriosa. Magistrate Joseph Mifsud heard psychiatrist Joseph Spiteri certify that the accused had not been of sound mind at the time of the in- cident, adding however, that his condition had since improved with treatment. The court expert advised against sending the man to Mount Carmel Hospital, how- ever, saying this would be cruel and counterproductive. The court was in a forgiving frame of mind, opining that in addition to that laid down by the law, the case also needed to be given "a sense of reconciliatory justice, mercy and hope". In its sentence, the court made reference to pronouncements by various Christian leaders, includ- ing a 2013 address on the issue by Pope Francis, a recent pastoral let- ter by bishops Charles Scicluna and Mario Grech on how the negative effects of illness were not only felt by the sick themselves but also the people closest to them. The sen- tence also quoted, in full, an inspi- rational poem by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, praising the beauty of life. In view of his mental condition, the court absolved the man of all criminal responsibility and placed him under a two-year treatment order. Inspector Hubert Cini prosecut- ed. 10-year-old boy attacked carer, court told A court has heard that a 10-year-old boy had attacked a care worker from Dar Fra Diegu in Hamrun, during compilation proceedings against the care worker. The woman is denying charges of slightly injuring two siblings being cared for at the home. Police Inspector Robert Vella ex- plained to Magistrate Josette Demi- coli that, on 18 September last year, a woman had gone to the Hamrun police station to report that her chil- dren, aged 10 and 14, had called her from the home, telling her that they had been beaten by a carer because one of them had thrown a soft toy at her. The phone call had been placed from another carer's mobile phone, which had been obtained by the children without her knowledge. The mother told the police that she had called back on the number and had spoken to the carer, who confirmed it was true that the ac- cused had pushed one child and twisted the arm of another. When spoken to by the police, the carer had explained that the children had been misbehaving because the ac- cused had tried to separate the chil- dren at bedtime. Inspector Vella explained that one of the children had suffered slight injuries and blood had been detect- ed in the boy child's urine. Both car- ers and the children's mother were then questioned by the police. Under cross-examination, Vella confirmed that he had been aware of an internal inquiry held by the home, which concluded that no dis- ciplinary action was merited. The main witness was the second carer, who had been present when the alleged incident occurred. She testified that the accused carer had wanted to separate the children, who being siblings, resisted this. The argument escalated quickly and the boy had started to insult the carer, who invited the child to "try and lay a finger" on her. The child threw a soft toy at her before charg- ing at the woman. The accused allegedly then pushed the boy onto a wardrobe, before grabbing his sister and twist- ing her arm, ignoring their cries of pain. The police had responded and the second carer was ordered to take the children to the local health centre. The court was told that, while both carers had been suspended pending the internal inquiry, the accused had subsequently been promoted, while the witness discov- ered that she had been switched to part-time employment without her knowledge. The second carer con- firmed that the accused had hit the children. The second care worker also testi- fied that the home's rules were "too strict", recalling that she had re- ceived a warning from the manage- ment for giving a piece of bread to a child after 8pm on one occasion. She recalled that the boy's behav- iour had turned aggressive because he did not want to be separated from his sister. She said the accused had tried to calm the children down, but her efforts had been in vain. "They be- came aggressive towards us. He was quite a strong boy. She (the accused) was trying to stop him from hitting me. I do not use force, maybe I'm too soft but that is my way." The witness said the boy was also becoming aggressive towards the other children. At this point, the ac- cused had locked the boy out of the room, but this had only made things worse. The boy had vowed that he would get inside no matter what, the witness said, and the accused invited him to try. True to his word, the boy success- fully gained entry to the flat. Upon seeing this, the accused had threat- ened to call the police. "The boy's rage only got worse. He started in- sulting her, calling her a prostitute and throwing soft toys at her. At one point he charged at her and she pushed him. The boy hit the TV unit." The court heard that, a few min- utes later, the witness had found that the boy had taken her mobile phone and was calling his mother, telling her that he was beaten by a care worker. Under cross-examination, the witness said she had not mentioned the beating in the logbook because she did not want to get the accused into trouble. Replying to questions by defence lawyer Johan Debono, the witness said it was true that she had been issued several warnings by the home, including one for 'show- ing children pictures of herself in a bikini,' but insisted the latter was a made up charge and that she had only spoken to a 19-year-old resi- dent about clothes. The case continues on 29 April.