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Isaac Asare, 34, charged with wilful homicide of Miriam Azzopardi
Isaac Asare is accused of the wilful homicide of Miriam Azzopardi and stealing her mobile phone and other belongings • CCTV footage allegedly showed the pair entering the field where her body was later found, before Asare emerged alone around an hour later
25 September 2026, 8:40am
Julia Dowling
Julia Dowling
3 min read
A 34-year-old man from Ghana is charged with the murder of Miriam Azzopardi (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
A Ghanaian man has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to the murder of Miriam Azzopardi, whose body was found in a field in Marsa on Wednesday morning.
Isaac Asare, 34, was arraigned under arrest on Friday, charged with the wilful homicide of
Azzopardi during the night between 22 and 23 September.
He is also accused of stealing the victim’s mobile phone and other belongings.
Azzopardi, 48, was found dead in a field off Triq is-Salib tal-Marsa at around 10:30am on Wednesday, after civilians approached police officers who were patrolling the area and informed them of the body.
An autopsy subsequently established that Azzopardi had been strangled.
CCTV footage led investigators to suspect
Sources speaking to MaltaToday said investigators examining CCTV footage from the area were able to reconstruct Azzopardi’s movements in the hours leading up to her death.
Investigators established the time at which she met Asare, with CCTV footage allegedly showing the pair heading towards the field where her body would be discovered the following morning.
Around an hour later, Asare was allegedly captured leaving the field alone. Azzopardi was not seen leaving with him, while investigators found no footage showing anyone else entering the field after the accused had left, sources said.
The movements were captured at around 10 pm on the night before Azzopardi’s body was discovered.
Asare subsequently became the main suspect in the investigation, prompting police to gather further CCTV footage from the surrounding area and begin tracing his movements.
Sources told MaltaToday that locating the suspect was not an easy process.
After around a day of searching, investigators eventually identified the residence where Asare was staying and spotted him leaving the property. Police followed him before placing him under arrest in Marsa.
A subsequent search of his residence recovered the clothes he was allegedly wearing on the night of the murder, together with other items which, at this stage, cannot be disclosed.
Accused pleads not guilty
Asare appeared in court on Friday afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.
The court heard that Asare, who was born in Ghana and holds an Italian identity card, lives in Triq is-Sajjieda, Marsa.
During his examination, the court was told that he is currently unemployed and frequents the Marsa roundabout in an attempt to find work. Both of his parents are deceased.
Asare appeared to struggle to speak while giving his details to the court.
The validity of his arrest was not contested by the defence.
Prosecutors charged Asare with maliciously causing Azzopardi’s death with the intent to kill her or place her life in manifest jeopardy.
He is also charged with stealing Azzopardi’s mobile phone and other objects, with the alleged theft aggravated by violence, time and amount. The value of the allegedly stolen property does not exceed €2,329.37.
Protection order issued for victim’s family
The defence did not request bail during Friday’s arraignment, meaning Asare will remain in custody pending further proceedings.
Prosecutors also requested a protection order against the accused to safeguard members of Azzopardi’s family.
The court upheld the request, issuing a protection order in favour of the victim’s children, brother and mother.
Eight members of Azzopardi’s family were present in the courtroom during the arraignment.
Attorney General lawyer Kaylie Bonnet prosecuted, assisted by police inspectors Kurt Zahra, Wayne Camilleri and Miriam Lia.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Franco Debono and Matthew Xuereb appeared parte civile on behalf of the victim’s family.
Magistrate Astrid May Grima presided over the sitting.
Julia Dowling is a third-year law student who works as part-time court reporter with Malta...
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Accused remanded in custody
At this stage, the accused will be remanded in custody until the next sitting.
The arraignment ends.
Wilful homicide charges
Asare is charged with the wilful homicide of Miriam Azzopardi, with prosecutors alleging that he maliciously caused her death with the intent to kill her or place her life in manifest jeopardy.
He is also charged with stealing the victim’s mobile phone and other items, with the theft allegedly aggravated by violence, the time at which it was committed and the value of the stolen property, which did not exceed €2,329.37.
Protection order requested and granted for family
At this stage, the defence does not request bail.
The prosecution is requesting a protection order be issued against the accused for the protection of the victim’s family.
The court grants this request. A protection order is issued in favour of her children, her brother, and her mother.
Accused Isaac Asare pleads not guilty
The arrest of the accused is not contested, and the court is told he holds an Italian identity card.
The examination of the accused starts to take place.
He struggles to speak. Isaac Asare, 35, was born in Ghana. He currently resides in Marsa, Triq is-Sajjieda.
The court is also told the accused frequents the Marsa roundabout to try and find work, but is currently unemployed. Both his parents are dead.
He pleads not guilty to the charges against him.
Inspector takes the stand
Attorney General lawyer Kaylie Bonnet is prosecuting, and police inspectors Kurt Zahra, Wayne Camilleri, and Miriam Scicluna are assisting the prosecution.
The inspector takes the stand.
Seven family members present
Police sit near the accused on either side with latex gloves on.
The family of the victim including her daughter, amongst several others have also entered the courtroom and sat at the back. There is a total of seven family members in the courtroom at the moment.
Arraignment begins
The accused gets up to take his seat in the dock as his arraignment begins.
Accused present in court
Another sitting is ongoing, but the accused is in the courtroom.
He appears nervous, mumbling to himself. He is wearing jeans and a chequered shirt.
Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday
Parte civile lawyers
We are informed parte civile lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Franco Debono and Matthew Xuereb are representing the family of the victim.
Journalists from all newsrooms present
Journalists from six different newsrooms are present in Hall 2 waiting to report on the arraignment which left many shocked.
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We are currently waiting in Hall 2 for the accused to be brought to court.