Man sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering partner, Maria Lourdes Agius

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his partner, Maria Lourdes Agius.

The mother-of-seven was found strangled to death in her bedroom in Paola, in September 2018.

The accused, Michael Emmanuel, was also ordered to pay all court expenses, totaling €9,840.

Emmanuel faced several charges, including wilful homicide, attempted grievous bodily harm of Agius and her mother, and slight bodily harm of Agius and her mother. He was found guilty of wilful homicide with eight votes against one and guilty of slight bodily harm of Agius with eight votes against one.

Additionally, he was unanimously found guilty of disobedience of lawful orders and as an accomplice to forgery of public, commercial, or private bank documents.

As the verdict was delivered, Emmanuel knelt down in the dock, arms outstretched as if in prayer. After a moment of silence, he knocked on the dock and blew a kiss in the direction of the cross on the wall.

Emmanuel, an Ivorian national, pleaded not guilty to suffocating Agius on September 15, 2018, inside their shared flat in Paola, where Agius's mother also resided.

Two days before the murder, Emmanuel had punched Agius's mother in the head during an argument. He then cornered Agius, physically assaulting her and demanding that her mother move out.

During the trial, the prosecution, represented by AG lawyer Anthony Vella, said it was a “heinous crime”.

Vella described Agius's murder as cold-blooded, calculated, and cruel, causing her a slow and painful death. Agius was severely battered and bruised in her own home, a place where she should have felt safe. Vella stressed the need to send a strong message that domestic violence crimes would be severely punished.

However, defence lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace argued that the verdict, with eight votes against one, was not unanimous and urged the court to consider imposing life imprisonment without solitary confinement. He noted that the circumstances of this case were different from the case of Bojan Cmelik, who was found guilty of murdering Hugo Chetcuti.

Presiding over the trial, Mr. Justice Aaron Bugeja had the discretion to determine the sentence.

AG lawyers Anthony Vella and Maria Francesca Spiteri prosecuted the case, while Simon Micallef Stafrace acted as the legal aid counsel.

Lawyers Lara Dimitrijevic and Stephanie Caruana represented the victim's family.