Violent robbery left jeweller brain damaged, unable to breathe or eat unaided, son tells court

The son of a jeweller who was left paralyzed as a result of a violent robbery has told the compilation of evidence against the alleged robbers that his father had met a fate worse than death.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia heard testimony against two Moroccan men: Zuhair Hadoumi, 26, a resident of Sliema and Mohamed Anas Boualam, 37, and 29 year-old Donna Sciberras, as the compilation of evidence continued on Wednesday. The three defendants are denying charges of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, illegal arrest, aggravated theft and criminal damage, amongst others, in connection with the August 25 robbery.

The victim, Joe Carabott, had suffered severe brain injuries as a result of being beaten unconscious by the robbers when he tried to call for help. In previous sittings, the court had heard how family members had found Carabott unconscious in his Zurrieq jewellery shop, his hands bound.

“My father is finished. Worse than dead. He is just skin and bone and is still deteriorating,” the son told the court, in an emotional deposition this morning. “He had been a better sportsman than me and now he’s ended up unable to breathe properly or eat by himself.”

The witness said he had gone to the shop to check on his father and described finding a scene of “utter chaos” inside.  He had repeatedly banged on the closed shutter, before catching a glimpse through the shutter, of his father lying face down on the floor.

The son had shouted for help at the top of his lungs, but was unable to open the shutter, even with the help of a young couple that had been passing by. A number of people in the area had called the police and had given him a hand in his efforts to open the shutter. 

He exhibited a photo he had taken through the shutter on his mobile phone, telling the court that he could see his father’s feet making small movements which told him that he was still alive, but added that the victim was clearly finding it hard to breathe.

Before the police arrived, he had considered ramming the shutter with his car, so dire was his father’s condition, he said. 

Around ten minutes into his struggle with the shutter, his sister and brother in law had arrived and managed to gain entry after breaking a bulletproof pane of glass. The interior of the shop was in darkness, he said. His father was on the floor, his hands tied behind his back with a ribbon.

“He was covered in blood and had clearly been hit several times,” the son told the court, recalling seeing a number of prickly pears that Carabott’s friend had given him earlier that day, scattered around the shop.

Police officers and firemen arrived shortly after and had opened the door, after helping a paramedic in through the window. Joe Carabott was stretchered into the ambulance and taken to hospital, where a CT scan showed that he had suffered severe brain damage.

A police constable also testified today, giving an account of what was gleaned for CCTV footage from the shop and the surrounding area, which showed the three defendants arriving in a white Peugeot, which had been booked through a cab hailing app.

CCTV footage documented the robbers’ route to Blue Grotto Avenue in Zurrieq, where they changed cars. The defendants then used another taxi, belonging to an Egyptian flatmate, to escape from the scene of the crime.

620 pills of what police suspect to be ecstasy were found during a search of Boulam’s room in the flat, together with an implement used by jewellers and the jacket worn by Donna Sciberras during the heist.

An apartment in the immediate vicinity of the Sliema Police Station was raided in a bid to arrest the three suspects, who attempted to flee over the rooftops. Sciberras was arrested on the apartment’s roof, while the other two men were taken into custody on the roof of a nearby apartment.

The victim’s son in law also testified on Wednesday, giving a similar account to the son’s.

He confirmed that Carabott was unresponsive at the scene and remains so to this day.

“He was a really good and affable guy and had many friends. A sportsman par excellence.”

The compilation of evidence will continue on Friday.

Lawyer Brandon Kirk Muscat is Sciberras’ defence counsel while lawyer Mark Mifsud Cutajar is representing the other two defendants. 

Prosecutors Anthony Vella and Kaylie Bonett from the Office of the Attorney General are assisting police inspectors Shaun Pawney, Lydon Zammit, Jonathan Cassar and Stephen Gulia. 

Lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell is appearing for the victim’s family in the proceedings..