Murder jury: El-Gadi describes 'happy family life' with victim

Nizar El-Gadi said he had no reason to harm his wife and described a happy family life, as the murder trial by jury began its third week.

Margaret Mifsud was found dead in her car in Bahar ic-Caghaq on 19 April 2012.

El-Gadi described how he learnt Maltese with Mifsud’s help and how she trusted him with her bankcards. “If she thought I was a bad person, she would not have trusted me,” he said.

The prosecution pointed out that on the day of her murder, Mifsud, a lawyer by profession, had sent the accused a text message demanding he stop harassing her.

The prosecution recalled how Mifsud had called El-Gadi "a horrible man" in an email, to which El-Gadi replied, "I do not know what she wrote. If she lied only God knows now."

On the evening in question, text message logs show that Mifsud had left her house at 8:10pm, arriving in Bugibba at 8:30pm, where she picked up a friend.

El-Gadi claimed that there had been a short tryst with Mifsud outside of her house before she went out for the night.

By 8:01pm, El-Gadi admitted, the two had not yet met and he could not account for how long the tryst lasted.

DNA expert Marisa Cassar testified, explaining that there was more of the accused’s DNA under the victim’s fingernails than there was her own. El-Gadi responded to this by saying that Mifsud liked playing with his hair.

Last week, forensic pathologist Mario Scerri testified, saying that there were no signs of resistance by Mifsud, suggesting that she trusted her aggressor, who pinned her down while sitting on her chest, ultimately causing her death.

Assistant Attorney General Philip Galea Farrugia and Gianella Busuttil are leading the prosecution while Kathleen Grima and Arthur Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the victim’s family. The defence is being led by lawyer Martin Testaferrata Moroni Viani. Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi is presiding.