Court gives suspended sentence to man who assaulted ex and stole €11,000 in gold

A 27-year-old Żabbar man has admitted to stealing over €11,000 worth of gold from his ex-partner and violently assaulting her inside her Valletta home moments after she had taken her young daughter to school.

Denzil Bartolo appeared under arrest before Magistrate Jean Paul Grech on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty. The court sentenced Bartolo to two years in prison, suspended for four years, and issued a restraining order to protect the victim.

The incident took place on the morning of 2 June, at the woman’s residence. According to testimony, Micallef had heard noises while in bed but did not take notice of it and slept. The next morning when she woke up she found Bartolo sleeping on the sofa but she chose not to react in front of her daughter.

But upon her return, when she attempted to wake Bartolo, the situation escalated. He allegedly attacked her with a chair and she later discovered that a significant amount of gold jewellery, worth approximately €11,000, had gone missing.

Prosecution was lead by Inspector Antonello Magri and lawyer Valentina Cassar.

Matthew Xuereb defended the accused while Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri appeared as parte civile.