[WATCH] Court imposed protection order on Kordin murder victim, minister says

A court had imposed a protection order in favour of Bernice Cassar, who was killed in Kordin on her way to work on Tuesday morning, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri confirmed.

Camilleri said that Cassar filed judicial proceedings against her killer last August, asking the court to hear her case with urgency. The court went on to issue a protection order in her favour.

Cassar had filed an original report of domestic violence with the police back in May. Police filed charges against the murder suspect, but the case was set to be heard in November 2023 before the August judicial proceedings.

“The charges in court were not enough to avoid what happened this morning,” Camilleri said.

He added that there were times when this victim was assisted. “Today we should send a strong message. At the same time, we must have all the information, without a doubt, on what was done, what could have been done better, or what could have been done differently.”

Camilleri added that he spoke with the Justice Ministry about the case earlier on Tuesday. The two agreed to appoint an inquiry, led by retired Judge Geoffrey Valencia.

This will establish any shortcomings and by whom those shortcomings came from.

A police operation is still underway at the Qrendi residence of the man suspected to have killed Cassar.

Police units from the special intervention branch are on site in Triq il-Kartaġiniżi, along with a medical team and members of the Civil Protection Department.

Just after the shooting incident, the man uploaded two messages on Facebook, one addressed to his young children, and another suggesting a domestic dispute.