Bulgarian admits to Qawra murder

27-year old Emil Atanasov admitted to police investigators to stabbing Serbian national Dragoljub Kristic when the latter was trying to choke him during an argument, Inspector Keith Arnaud told the court today.

Atanasov, born in Bulgaria and resident at St Paul's Bay, is being charged with the murder of the Serbian man, following a single stab to the heart, in the early hours of 11 February. Born in Grocka, Serbia and living in Malta since late last year, Dragoljub Kristic was killed in the common area on the first floor of an apartment in Triq il-Merluz, St Paul's Bay.

Taking the witness stand in the compilation of evidence against Atanasov, the Inspector explained how the accused at first told the investigators he had been assaulted by two Serbs who were partying in his residence. “They punched me in the face and threw me to the ground, so I got up and ran away,” the accused said. However, faced with conflicting evidence, he later admitted to having stabbed the victim when he felt unable to breathe. 

In his second statement, Atanasov explained how flatmate Dani Krstski returned home with two Serbian nationals. The accused lent them a set of speakers and told them to keep quiet. When the music in the apartment could no longer be tolerated by the neighbours, the landlord’s nephew cut the electrical supply to Atanasov’s apartment. The Serbs blamed the accused for the power cut and assaulted him. At that moment, the Bulgarian was alone with them.

Rather than locking himself in his own bedroom or filing a police report, Atanasov fetched a metal crowbar and a penknife from his room and tried to force the Serbs out of his house. Victim Dragoljub Kristic and co-national Zoran Jocic again attacked their host.

“Dragoljub took me by the throat and pushed me against the wall. I felt the crowbar fall from my hand, so I kept the handle of the knife against my body, with the tip pointing outwards. When I could no longer breathe, I pushed out my hand and Dragoljub moved forward, impaling himself on my knife,” the accused told the police. Having been stabbed through the heart, the victim released his grasp on Atanasov and tried to flee the scene. Jocic managed to get out of the apartment block but Kristic succumbed to his injuries. The accused retrieved his crowbar and hid it in a pot outside the Watson Bar. He also got rid of his penknife by throwing it into a drainpipe. Scene of Crime officers eventually retrieved both weapons.

Atanasov insisted with the investigators that he had no intention to kill the Serbian man and when he was assaulted, he did not file a police report as he was unsure if the others had their papers in order.

Going back to what transpired on the fateful morning, Inspector Keith Arnaud told the court that when he got to Triq il-Merluz, St Paul's Bay, he found three foreign men in police custody. “34-year-old Dani Krstski had scratches on his hands. The clothes of 33-year old Zoran Jocic, from Belgrade, were covered in blood and he had facial injuries. The third man was the accused who also had injuries on his face and bloodied clothes,” the Inspector said. On the first floor landing, the body of Dragoljub Kristic was found in a pool of blood. The men told the police about a fourth foreigner who was also present in the apartment during the incident. 

Searching the rooftops, Inspector Arnaud found Macedonian national Goran Manojlovski hiding behind an air-conditioning unit. Manojlovski told the Inspector that he went out to buy cigarettes and when he returned, there was no electricity. Walking up the stairs with the light from the street lamp, he found the accused and the victim arguing, but had no idea what had happened. He fled the apartment when the argument started escalating and while running up the steps to the roof heard Krstski tell the accused, "Please don’t do this, respect my guests".

Back inside the apartment, bloodstains led the police from the victim’s body to a bedroom inside Apartment 12. The room was used by Dani Krstski and co-national Goran Manojlovski. During questioning, Krstski gave details of how he had met the two Serbs at a bar and when this closed, he invited them to continue partying at his apartment. "We asked Atanasov to lend us his speakers, which he did. When he heard our Serbian music he joined us," Krstski told the police. 

Having had enough of the ruckus, the landlord’s nephew told the foreigners to switch off the music and when they ignored him, he cut off their electrical supply from the common area. Krstski went down to see what was happening and when he returned to the apartment Atanasov complained that the Serbs had assaulted him, however they could not communicate because of language differences. When the Serbs were leaving, the accused confronted them and screams were heard in the common areas. Krstski alleged that due to the darkness, he could not say if his flat mate was armed.

33-year old Zoran Jocic, from Belgrade, released a statement saying it was he who alerted the police about the stabbing. “When I saw my mate bleeding and I ran to the Qawra Police Station for help”.  He claimed his memory was hazy as both he and the victim had consumed a lot of alcohol and were drunk.

Inspector Arnaud exhibited in court two mobile phones, a DVD of the interrogations and a number of documents. He said the police searched Atanasov’s room where they found a black empty penknife pocket and some construction tools. The accused confirmed all items inside his room belonged to him.

Sitting quietly in the dock, flanked by two interpreters, accused Emil Atanasov nodded his confirmation to understanding all the witness had recounted.

Legal aid lawyer Renzo Porsella Flores was appointed defence counsel.