Court appoints expert to reconstruct murder suspect’s walk from scene of crime

Magistrate Saviour Demicoli has appointed court expert Robert Musumeci to walk from the spot where lawyer Margaret Mifsud was found murdered in her car last April, to the Empire Cinema in Bugibba where her murderer is believed to have been seen last.

The reconstruction was requested by the prosecution - led by Inspector Keith Arnaud - in the case against Libyan national Nizar El-Gadi, Mifsud's estranged partner and father of her two daughters, who is charged with murdering her in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq on the night of April 19, 2011.

The prosecution made the request in a bid to confirm its theory that El Gadi walked from the scene of the crime, back to Bugibba. The expert will have to time the walk.

Moreover, the prosecution also asked the expert to then drive from near the Empire Cinema complex in Bugibba to St George's Road in St Julian's, and stop by Champs pastizzerija.

The second request was made for the prosecution to prove its theory, that walking away from the scene of the crime, El Gadi had driven from Bugibba to St Julian's.

During this morning's sitting, the court heard CID Police Sergeant Manwel Mifsud say that soon after he went to the scene of the crime, where Mifsud lay lifeless in her Daihatsu car in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, he telephoned Nizar El-Gadi, who told him that he was "far away" when asked where he was.

El Gadi hung up the phone, only to reply to the police after some 20 further calls, explaining that he was "seeing a lawyer".

According to the police sergeant, when asked why was he seeing a lawyer, El Gadi replied that "it was about something else", and never made any reference to his wife Margaret, despite her being dead.

The sergeant added that El Gadi had agreed to meet him at the Birkirkara police station later that day, but turned up half an hour late.

"He rushed into the station and threw himself to the ground, seemingly fainting," the sergeant said.

He added that while he was given water and regaining consciousness, he was taken to the CID offices at the Floriana Depot, where again he said he was not too well and later fainted as he was taken into the Inspector's office. An ambulance was called and El Gadi was taken to hospital.

The case continues.