Justin Borg to be indicted for the murder of Chantelle Chetcuti

A court has decreed that it had seen sufficient evidence to indict Justin Borg for the murder of Chantelle Chetcuti.

Chetcuti, a mother of two, died of injuries she sustained after she was stabbed in the head, allegedly by her ex-partner Justin Borg, who stands accused of her homicide.

Several witnesses testified before magistrate Rachel Montebello today, among them Eugenio Chetcuti, the victim’s father.

The father says that his wife had fainted upon seeing their daughter on the ground at the scene. Chantelle could not speak to them, he adds. He told the court of the trauma of going to visit his daughter in the hospital. She still had the knife stuck inside her head and no one could remove it, he said.

The accused was "obsessed" with his daughter, he said. Around three days before the stabbing, he had overheard Chetcuti telling her mother that they had an accident with their car. He had taken her logbook to remain present in her life, the witness added.

Chantelle Chetcuti used to live with her parents, her brother and her children.

Another witness, Johann Azzopardi, a long-time friend of the victim, told the court that she had told him of the ongoing abuse she was suffering at the hands of the accused, he had seen the bite marks allegedly made by Borg on Chetcuti’s skin, he said.

On one occasion, she had described how Borg had kicked her in the back, leaving her in agony for a whole night and had only taken her to the hospital the following morning. Doctors had told her that she was lucky not to have ended up in a wheelchair.

Chantelle had described this incident a week or two before her death, he said.

He added that just two days before her murder, Azzopardi and Chetcuti were out socialising with friends at Wied iz-Zurrieq when Borg arrived in his car. Chetcuti had reacted angrily, banging her fists on the car and shouting at the man to leave. The witness asked why Borg was present when he was no longer in a relationship with Chetcuti, but was told to stick to the facts by defence lawyer Franco Debono.

Azzopardi said that they had then gone to a bar and were followed by Borg. Chetcuti had walked home. The group of friends returned to the bar and found Borg there, Azzopardi said, noting that they encountered him three times in one night.

Cross-examined by Debono, Azzopardi was asked to remember what Chetcuti had said to Borg when she confronted him at Wied iż-Żurrieq, but the witness said he could not recall.

The Magistrate pressed Azzopardi to remember whether Chetcuti hit Borg, pointing out that the witness could not be selective in what to remember and what to forget.

At this point, Azzopardi said that Chetcuti had hit Borg, but said he didn’t know where or how. All he knew is that she confronted him, he insisted. On that occasion, Borg had not reacted, he said.

Debono asked Azzopardi whether he knew that Borg and Chetcuti had attended family therapy sessions. He confirms this, saying that he had given Chetcuti lifts to therapy on occasion.

The Magistrate interjected, however, stating that no further questions on the topic would be permitted. Despite Debono’s insistence, the magistrate forbade any further questions on the topic of family therapy.

At the end of the sitting, Magistrate Montebello gave a decree of prima facie, meaning that the court was of the opinion that there was sufficient evidence to indict the man.

The compilation of evidence will continue on 3 April at 9:30am.

Inspector Kurt Zahra prosecuted, assisted by lawyer Kristina Garilli from the office of the Attorney General. 

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Francesca Zarb were defence counsel.