‘No sentence justifies it’: Roderick Cassar jailed 40 years for femicide of wife Bernice

Roderick Cassar has been jailed for 40 years after admitting to the murder of his estranged wife, Bernice Cilia.

Cassar changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday morning, weeks before his trial by jury was due to begin.

Cassar, 43, fatally shot his wife Bernice on 22 November 2022 in the Corradino area as she drove to work. The killing became the first case ever prosecuted under Malta’s aggravated offence of wilful femicide. He was arrested following a 17-hour standoff at his home in Qrendi.

The admission was part of a plea deal. The family, confirmed they had reluctantly accepted the deal.

The court, in handing down the sentence, condemned Cassar's actions as robbing two children of their mother and extinguishing the life of a woman who had repeatedly sought state protection. He additionally imposed a €232.94 fine.

Court testimony and public outrage in the aftermath of the murder highlighted systemic failings in the protection of domestic violence victims. Bernice had filed several police reports in the months prior to her death, including one the day before she was killed, reporting breaches of a protection order and threats to her life.

A subsequent inquiry led by retired judge Geoffrey Valenzia found the state had failed to protect her, citing resource shortages and poor risk-assessment procedures. The inquiry recommended urgent reforms, including a triage system for domestic violence reports and new protocols to assess high-risk cases, after the DASH tool classified Bernice’s situation as “medium risk.”

‘No sentence justifies it’: family reacts

Speaking outside court, representatives of the Cassar family expressed both relief and heartbreak, saying Bernice had been “failed in life and in death.”

“No sentence justifies it”, they said, adding that although the law provided no harsher punishment, the family had been forced to accept the reality of the sentence.

Parte civile lawyer Marita Pace Dimech said that “from all the options available at this moment, the family had to bow their heads before the court” and accept the punishment, stressing that Cassar “had the opportunity till the last minute to change his guilty plea”.

“Everyone knows that 40 years aren’t actually 40 years,” she said, referring to the fact that good conduct in prison could see one year turn into eight months.

“In the circumstances, the family had to lower their heads… at least they have a form of closure,” she said, adding that the family “literally had to bow their head to the court” but now hopes Bernice may finally rest.

Bernice’s murder sparked national outrage, protests, and a renewed focus on domestic violence failures, prompting government commitments to strengthen law enforcement response and court protections for victims.

The prosecution was led by AG lawyers Anthony Vella and Kaylie Bonett

The defence was led Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri

The Parte civile was led Marita Pace Dimech and Ann Marie Cutajar

Judge Neville Camilleri presided over the case.