Third suspect in Paceville murder re-admitted to hospital

The third suspect in in connection with the fatal stabbing of Joseff Rivas in Paceville is expected to be charged later today

Paceville murder victim Joseff Rivas
Paceville murder victim Joseff Rivas

The third suspect in in connection with the fatal stabbing of Joseff Rivas in Paceville has been re-admitted to Mater Dei Hospital.

He was expected to be arraigned on Sunday, having been receiving medical care at the hospital during the past days, but sources told MaltaToday that he was once again in hospital.

The reasons for his hospital admissions are not known.

Two brothers, 35-year-old Ionut Iulian Tanase and 32-year-old Dan-Andrei Tanase have already been arraigned before magistrate Ian Farrugia charged with murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, carrying a knife in public without a licence and breaching the peace.

The two brothers were also charged with offences relating to living off the earnings of prostitution. They have pleaded not guilty.

Investigations indicated that the murder was the result of a dispute involving an organised crime syndicate working in the field of prostitution.

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The women showed the police messages indicating they were told to leave the country.

During the interrogation, one of the accused had told the police that after seeing all this going on, they could not fail to act.

The three men had been at a cafe in Ross street when they were approached by three men. CCTV showed a few seconds of communication, followed by a commotion involving the victim.

Victim was “person of interest” in investigation into organised crime

News reports about the murder claimed that Rivas, 44, had been a person of interest to international intelligence services due to suspected ties to organised crime. The Malta Police Force had reportedly been working together with the UK and Romanian police forces on the investigation.