Paulina Dembska killer raped victim after murdering her
Trigger warning: this post contains graphic details of murder and rape • The man accused of murdering Polish student Paulina Dembska told police that the devil "gave him a plan" requiring two more murders

A court has been told that although the man accused of the murder of Polish student Paulina Dembska had told the police that the devil had “given him a plan” requiring two more murders, he had only started mentioning supernatural forces when he felt cornered.
Murder victim Paulina Dembska’s parents were present in court today, as Magistrate Marseanne Farrugia declared that the court had seen sufficient evidence for Aquilina to be indicted.
The court heard evidence and submissions on whether the court should accept the results of a psychiatric evaluation which concluded that her killer had been insane at the time of the murder.
In the previous sitting in the compilation of evidence in June, the court heard a team of court-appointed psychiatrists testify that in their opinion, Abner Aquilina was unfit to testify. His defence lawyer is arguing that the 20-year-old had been in a psychotic state when he strangled Dembska, a 29-year-old student from Poland, to death on January 2 this year.
Aquilina had been arrested shortly after the murder took place, by police responding to reports of a man causing a disturbance during a mass at the Balluta parish church.
He had confessed to the murder soon after his arrest, telling the police his mind was a "cooker" and that he received "frequencies" and that "the great one illuminates me."
The court was told that the victim’s body showed injuries compatible with several blows to the head and chest, with her autopsy revealing that she had been raped and strangled.
Inspectors Wayne Camilleri and Shawn Pawney testified today, both of them telling magistrate Marseanne Farrugia that Aquilina had shown signs of discomfort when confronted with pictures of the victim’s remains.
"We showed him pictures of the body [during interrogation]. He was visibly very uncomfortable and avoided eye contact, lifting his shirt over his head," inspector Camilleri said.
He added that after the recording of the interview had been stopped, Aquilina had quipped that he was “close to confessing back there”. This part was not recorded.
Aquilina was also highly uncomfortable when he was shown footage from police officers’ body cams, repeatedly lifting his t-shirt over his head to avoid seeing it.
After the interrogation, Aquilina had gone up to the inspector and another officer and remarked: "Well done. Good effort A++. I was close to confessing back there.”
Inspector Pawney said that he had participated in two of the six interviews conducted with the accused. During an early session, Aquilina had started to run around the room and fallen to the ground, but this had stopped after the police told the suspect that they were not impressed by his acting and the behaviour had never recurred. “The mention of spirits and magnets only came up when Aquilina felt cornered during questioning,” the inspector told the court.
Aquilina had in fact quoted films and pop culture in what was taken to be a bid to impress his interrogators, said the inspector. “He had said that A Clockwork Orange contained many parallels to his life. But most of the time he was interacting normally with us,” he said.
"He was recalling a lot of details, but whenever the topic of conversation came to the murders, he would start mentioning spirits and magnets and so on."
The court was also told of the external lacerations to the victim's genital area. "The lacerations were abnormal in shape, not what you'd expect. They were long. They were somewhat mutilated," said the inspector.
Inspector Pawney testified that Aquilina had told the police that he had killed Dembska and then raped her. He had said he hadn’t initially wanted to murder her, but had decided to when she had started to resist.
Dr. Cutajar steps off the stand. The court asked him to inform the staff at Mater Dei that confidential medical information is not to be circulated by email.
Mifsud suggested that Aquilina's interrogation had not been as flowing as described by the inspectors, but had been in fits and starts. The court ruled that the issue would be settled when the transcript of the interrogation was exhibited.
"Was I also being recorded when I was talking to the police and doctors? I was never informed of this?"
The witness replied that he did not think this was the case.
Aquilina had told the police that he had killed her and then raped her. He had said he didn’t want to murder her, but then she had started to resist.
Filletti suggested that A Clockwork Orange was about a person who enjoyed violence and rape. "We watched the film. I don't know in what way he identified with it, but he said he did."
"We explained to the accused that the footage was going to be seen in court and that as he had been certified as fit for interrogation, he was doing this for nothing. "
Aquilina started quoting films and pop culture in a bid to impress his interrogators, said the inspector. He had said that A Clockwork Orange contained many parallels to his life. But most of the time he was interacting normally with them, he said.
At one point, Aquilina started shouting that he wanted to use the toilet and started to break wind loudly and laugh. This was all captured on video, said the inspector.
"He was recalling a lot of details, but whenever the topic of conversation came to the murders, he would start mentioning spirits and magnets and so on."
• Aquilina told police that the devil gave him a plan that required him to kill two other people
• Aquilina had moved in with a friend from River of Love three days before the murder
• Police said Aquilina pretended to be insane during the first minutes of the first interrogation, but his behaviour eventually became and remained normal
"We were still at the stage of evaluating everything. We went because he was arrested in Balluta Church a few metres away from the murder scene and was saying things which could be relevant."
After the tape was stopped, Aquilina said “I was close to confessing back there”. This part was not recorded.
"Yes. He made it clear to us several times that he knew right from wrong. He didn't want to say whether he felt remorse, but insisted that he went to the church afterwards. Bodycam footage shows him telling us that he didn't want to do what he did and didn't want to hurt her."
During the first minute of the first interrogation, Aquilina had pretended to be insane, but after the investigating police inspectors told him they weren't going to play this game because they had a certificate that he was fit for interrogation, his behaviour became normal and remained so for the rest of the interrogation.
Aquilina was also highly uncomfortable when he was shown bodycam footage, to the extent that he was lifting his t-shirt over his head to avoid seeing it. Aquilina said that magnets had something to do with the murder
After the interrogation, Aquilina went up to the inspector and another officer and said "Well done. Good effort A++. I was close to confessing back there."
Aquilina's mother had been questioned and told the police that her son identified with the protagonist of A Clockwork Orange, saying that he too had been sexually abused in childhood.
Officers also spoke to Aquilina's mother. She told the police that her son had used drugs and would gamble. Abner had moved in with a friend from River of Love three days before, she said. On the night of the murder she was woken up at night to the sounds of Aquilina hurriedly packing clothes in a suitcase, said the inspector.
It was an orderly reporting that a certain Abner George Aquilina had broken items inside Balluta church, said the Inspector. Aquilina had asked the priest to "declare that he was not insane and to obtain some form of presidential pardon for him". He had also threatened staff at the Floriana Health Centre, warning that there will be "another two victims".
"At this stage the victim was not yet identified, but my colleague and I could see that she had documents in her pocket." The officers decided to inspect the documents - a Polish ID card and a credit card. From there they established the name and age of the victim.
“I was not officially informed. I was told by the parents of the accused.”
Defence counsel Mario Mifsud interrupted, objecting that the media was present.