Ex-cop questioned in connection with Marsa murder

The Police have identified two men believed to have been in the car with Sylvester Farrugia, the 25-year-old hospital worker who was killed by a firearm last Sunday in Marsa.

Informed sources told MaltaToday that the men – one of whom is a former police officer – were spoken to by the police but no arrests were made.

The police knew the victim in connection with drug investigations, and it now transpires that the Police had the men’s names on a list of possible suspects in connection with a recent spate of car bomb attacks.

The latest car bomb, which occurred in January, killed Victor Calleja and the bomb is believed to have been set off remotely. The car exploded in Qormi Road, Marsa, on a Sunday morning.

Before that, a bomb planted inside a Mitubishi Pajero claimed the life of 67-year-old John Camilleri, making him the 16th target of a bomb attack since 2010.

The motive behind all attacks remains mostly unknown to the media and the public, although the main suspicions always lead to individuals who are, in one way or another, linked to the smuggling of fuel, drug trafficking and usury.
However, the majority of cases remain shrouded in mystery.

Sylvester Farrugia's body was found in Triq Simpson, some three blocks away from where the shooting allegedly took place

Sylvester Farrugia was laid to rest yesterday afternoon. His body was found in Triq Simpson, lying on the ground in front of a stolen white Toyota Starlet.

27-year-old Deniro Magri, of Marsa, has been charged with his murder. Magri is pleading not guilty.

From initial proceedings in court it emerged that three men in a white car tried to set fire to Magri’s residence. The accused placed the time at around 1am, when he was allegedly woken up by the noise and saw the men outside. The police confirmed that petrol had been thrown at the residence’s façade.

The police believe that when Magri fired shots at the men, he hit Farrugia in the back. The stolen car had two shattered windows. It has not been established whether the shots were fired from inside the residence, or from outside.

Farrugia’s lifeless body, covered in blood, was only found at 5am, some three blocks away from Magri’s residence. This suggests that Farrugia’s accomplices in the botched arson attack fled the scene, leaving the 25-year-old alone to die.

Lawyer Giannella de Marco, appearing for Magri, said that the accused “was peacefully at home when someone tried to set his house on fire”.

According to the defence team, after noticing what was happening outside his house, Magri opened fire on the arsonists.

Inspector Keith Arnaud, who is leading the prosecution, told the court that it was certain that shots had been fired in Magri’s street.

“As a fact, it resulted that a shot had been fired very close to the accused’s home. Whether inside or outside is a hypothesis,” he told the court.

The Magri residence, where the accused lives with his wife and seven-year-old son, is just three blocks away from where Farrugia’s body was found.

During the hearing, Arnaud stopped short of giving any details into the investigations into the other two persons suspected to be involved in the attempted arson attack. It is also unclear whether or not Farrugia was already dead when the two abandoned him to his fate.