Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/742473
3 has already expressed himself in favour of the development of luxury apartments in the area but insists that the local council will only pronounce its position on the proposed development after the matter is formally discussed at a council meeting. The Marsascala local council has also voted against a proposal by PN councillor Charlot Cassar, urg- ing the government to buy back the site and turn it into an open space for the public to enjoy. The motion was seconded by the Labour depu- ty mayor, Desiree Attard. maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2016 News Thursday TVM 20:50 land near Jerma has already expressed himself The Marsascala local council has Jury asked to evaluate all the evidence in prosecution's final submissions CASSONE MURDER MATTHEW AGIUS AS the trial by jury of a man ac- cused of murder at an Italian res- taurant in St Julian's in January 1993 entered its eighth day, the prosecution presented its closing arguments. The man on trial is accused of killing 58-year-old Vittorio Cas- sone, who died at the scene af- ter being shot in the chest by the masked robber, despite having handed over some Lm150 (€350). The prosecution's frustration with the evidence collection pro- cess of over 20 years ago was clear as lead prosecutor Dr Kevin Val- letta made his closing submis- sions. Despite exhibiting signs of trial fatigue, the majority of jurors were listening attentively, writing down notes as Valletta laid out the pros- ecution's arguments. He warned of the danger of hasty criminal investigations, which had led to identification parades being carried out in different rooms. Some documents in the case file could have been removed before the jury stage, he argued. Valletta posited that the '1% doubt' cited by the witnesses was down to fear. He chipped away at the notion of "weapon focus", say- ing that while it was true that the hold-up victims had looked at the gun, they had also taken in the robber's face. The lawyer accused the defence of putting the victims on trial, ar- guing that all witnesses had picked out the accused from a line-up, even if they had only been 99% certain. He argued that witness Rose Mary Suda, who had been a customer in the Chef Italy at the time of the hold-up, had been asked subtly leading questions. The prosecutor repeatedly urged the jurors to pay close attention to all the evidence and analyze it, asking them to also evaluate the witnesses' demeanour. Former police commissioner Emanuel Cassar had carried out the ID parades and handed eve- rything to the inquiring Magis- trate according to the procedure at the time; but the investigation lay dormant before Inspector Chris Pullicino had reopened the inquiry in 2003. Pullicino had found no gunshot residue linking the accused to the murder. ID parades were very tricky, the prosecution argued and because the witnesses could not identify the accused with cer- tainty, the police had not pressed charges at the time. Valletta highlighted the signifi- cance of the recognition of the aggressor's eyes. "Eyes remain the same, they do not change over time," the lawyer argued. Placing emphasis on the ac- counts given by witness D'Agostini and Pullicino, Valletta appealed to jurors to evaluate the entirety of the evidence at their disposal, whilst also paying close attention to detail. "Bear human error in mind. Nothing is com- pletely perfect." Discrepancies in the estima- tions of the duration of the crime were irrelevant because time was relative, he stated. "Whatever the time taken, it probably seemed an eternity to those in the shop." Nei- ther was it relevant that witnesses had given the killer different hair colours, he said: they had all been impressed by the man's eyes. The prosecution conceded that the evidence was not perfect, but urged the jurors not to forget the victim in their respect for the pre- sumption of innocence. "This is my plate, if it has a chipped edge I cannot do anything about it. This is the case as handed to me. When I took over, my superior had al- ready concluded the investigation into the case." Describing the case as "tricky", Valletta was clearly dissatisfied with the fact that the police had failed to question the accused when witnesses had indicated him in the identification parades. "The case file is obviously not ideal and there are docs missing, but one must appreciate that in 1993 things were done differently. There was no need for the inquir- ing Magistrate to be present dur- ing inquiry. Polaroid originals were misplaced and so on." The defence had tried to dis- credit D'Agostini, who in the opinion of the prosecution was the most genuine witness. On the contentious issue of whether or not the inquiring magistrate had been absent during the iden- tification parade, the prosecution pointed out that D'Agostini had referred to the Magistrate's pres- ence, in his statement to Inspector Pullicino, as had other witnesses. He criticized the defence for basing its argument around D'Agostini's claim to have been "most struck by the accused" in the identification parades. "I am saying you should find the ac- cused guilty because we have already carried out this exercise in evaluating the evidence. I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty. The other counter-arguments fall away." The court has imposed a ban on the publication of the name of the accused, due to the fact that the robber, a Cospicua man who is currently serving time for other offences, was a minor at the time. Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Anne Marie Cutajar are prosecut- ing. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel.