Mintoff Bland stabbing | Accused Gheorghe Popa ‘a threat to society’, court is told

The man accused of trying to stab Yana Mintoff Bland was a “threat to society,” a court has been told as Mintoff Bland’s lawyer wrapped up his submissions to the magistrate who will be deciding the fate of Gheorghe Popa, in December.

Popa, 39, the former partner of Yana Mintoff Bland, is accused of detaining Mintoff Bland against her will, attempting to grievously injure her, slightly injuring her and her son with a bladed instrument, carrying a weapon during the commission of a crime against the person, carrying a knife in public without a police license, attacking Mintoff Bland and her son with a knife and making verbal threats on 25 October, 2016.

Popa is also accused of harassing the woman, causing her to fear he would use violence against her in the months leading up to the stabbing, arson and causing criminal damage.

In previous sittings, the court was told that 40-year-old Popa had set fire to the house, after stabbing Mintoff in a jealous rage. It also emerged that Popa had been stabbed four times and nearly died as a result of the incident at Mintoff’s villa in Tarxien.

“No person who chooses to end a relationship should end up being attacked with a knife” argued parte civile lawyer Joseph Giglio.

Giglio surmised the possible motive could have been an argument between the couple, allegedly fuelled by the accused’s suspicions of infidelity.

Popa refused to accept the fact that Mintoff Bland had decided to call quits on their relationship, he said.

Giglio reminded the court that forensic evidence had showed the woman to have been injured with a knife, as she had been carrying a suitcase filled with Popa’s belongings down a flight of stairs. Had it not been for the suitcase, which she claimed to have used to fend off knife blows and for the timely intervention of her son, the outcome could have been tragic, Giglio argued.

When mother and son had fled the scene, the alleged aggressor had gone up to the roof, as evidenced by traces of blood along the way, but not before having set fire to the house, the court was told.

Not only had Popa held Mintoff Bland against her will but had then attempted to grievously injure her and her son inside the very home where he had been made welcome, said the lawyer.

The man’s “violent reaction” at his partner’s breaking up with him had been aimed at scaring her into changing her mind.

“Such reactions are not acceptable in our society,” Giglio said.

Popa had not shown any remorse for his aggression, added the lawyer, pointing out that forensic evidence of the man’s allegedly self-inflicted knife wounds seemed to indicate emotional instability on the part of the accused.

A clear message had to be sent and a firm stand taken against this type of “intolerable violence”, encouraging victims of domestic violence to speak out, Giglio said, urging the court to inflict a punishment tending towards the maximum at law.

Defence counsel Benjamin Valenzia is to submit written arguments in reply to Giglio’s oral submissions within one month from today, before the court hands passes sentence in December.

Inspector Spiridione Zammit prosecuted. Lawyer Benjamin Valenzia was defence counsel. Lawyer Joseph Giglio appeared parte civile.