Woman pleads insanity after violent incident with another woman

A 48-year-old Marsaskala woman is accused of assaulting and grievously injuring another woman

(File Photo)
(File Photo)

A Marsaskala woman accused of assaulting and grievously injuring another woman pleaded insanity yesterday, after being reported to the police by her own son.

Inspectors Kurt Farrugia and Darren Fabri told the court that in December, the police had received information from the accused’s son, indicating she had beaten another woman and grievously injured her.

Police had gone to the scene, finding the woman in a mentally disturbed state. She was taken to Mount Carmel hospital to recover and was later certified fit to be interrogated. The suspect was subsequently handed over to the police and interrogated.

The 48-year-old machine operator did not answer when asked whether she was pleading guilty or not guilty to the charges. Legal aid lawyer Christopher Chircop told the court she would not be answering, entering a plea of insanity at the time of commission of the offence. He also requested the court appoints psychiatric experts to establish whether she was of sane mind at the time of commission of the offence.

Magistrate Farrugia said the court would be pronouncing itself on this plea at a later stage, explaining he did not want to bind the hands of the magistrate to whom the case would eventually be assigned.

Bail was not requested. Instead, the defence requested that the court, in view of the plea made, order the director of prisons to ensure that the accused be held “in an institution that would best care for her needs in view of her particular health requirements.” The accused had already voluntarily checked in to the facility in the past days, the court was told.

Lawyer Christopher Chircop was defence counsel, whilst lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb represented the victim in the proceedings