A robbery that went wrong: The unsolved murder of a watchman in Qormi

In its second analysis of Joe Borg’s unsolved murder, Sunday newspaper Illum delves into the police’s investigations and what the victim’s family went through.

30-year-old pasta factory watchman Joe Borg was killed by three unidentified robbers.
30-year-old pasta factory watchman Joe Borg was killed by three unidentified robbers.
The robbers' getaway car was later found torched in a field.
The robbers' getaway car was later found torched in a field.

Nearly 24 years after Joe Borg – a 30-year-old pasta factory watchman from Qormi – was shot dead by three unidentified robbers, the unsolved murder mystery has left police at their wit’s end, Sunday newspaper Illum reports.

The fateful day occurred on 29 th September 1990, when Borg entered the factory at around 6.30pm.It was at this moment that he came face-to-face with his assailants: three unidentified robbers. Borg was shot three times in his leg, but his attempt to call for help was halted by four more shots. This time one of the bullets hit his back and killed him.

In its second analysis of the unsolved murder, Illum recounts how police had insisted that this was not a case of premeditated murder but conversely, it was a robbery that went wrong and which spelled the death of a 30-year-old man.

Forensic police had discovered shoe prints and others at the scene of the crime. A German forensic lab subsequently confirmed that the prints belonged to a slipper worn by prisoners at the Corradino prison.

Police also discovered the getaway car the robbers used: a red Datsun Cherry that was later found torched in a Siggiewi field. Investigators had serious suspicions in two men; however, one of the suspects was killed in a bomb attack, while the other suspect, died of a drug overdose.

Illum delves in what the family of the victim experienced. It explains that the victim’s sister tried to give her brother CPR until she was stopped by police, while the victim’s mother was kept away from the murder scene. 

Read more in today’s edition of Illum.