Kalkara murder | Accused granted bail

Gregorio Scicluna, who stands charged with shooting dead Joseph Caruana, the father of his estranged partner at Kalkara in November 2013, was today granted bail. Scicluna is also charged with the attempted murder of his former partner and their minor children.

Scicluna had, in fact, been granted bail in September, however this was subsequently revoked due to a procedural error and had to be reapplied for by the defence.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli granted Scicluna bail against a deposit of €30,000 and a further personal guarantee of €30,000, after noting that all prosecution witnesses had now been heard.

The magistrate also issued a protection order in favour of Scicluna’s estranged wife and her children and ordered him not to contact them in any way. Furthermore, magistrate Demicoli also prohibited Scicluna from entering the towns of Fgura, Tarxien and Kalkara.

The court imposed the prohibitions on the accused’s movements as, during a previous sitting, the prosecution had opposed bail due to concerns that Scicluna would “continue where he left off”.

Scicluna is charged with the murder of Joseph Caruana, who was shot in the back while fleeing with his daughter and grandchildren after an argument between the accused and his then girlfriend Maria Simone Caruana, Joseph Caruana's daughter.

After having shot the victim, Scicluna is then alleged to have struck the deceased’s head with the butt of his shotgun while he was on the ground with such force that the weapon broke. Joseph Caruana suffered a fractured skull and a severed spinal cord and died at the scene.