Murder trial of ex-AFM soldier Lorin Scicluna resumes in Courtroom 22
Former Armed Forces of Malta soldier Lorin Scicluna is on trial for the 2019 murder of Lassana Cisse in Ħal Far. Witnesses including a taxi driver and scene-of-crime officers gave evidence on Tuesday.
Scicluna murder trial: taxi driver and forensic officers testify
The trial of former soldier Lorin Scicluna, charged with the murder of Lassana Cisse Souleymane, continued before Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras on Tuesday, tvmnews.mt reported.
Scicluna, 29, of Paola, served with the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) at the time of the offence. He faces charges of murder and attempted murder, and has pleaded not guilty to all counts. A co-accused, Francesco Fenech, 28, also a former AFM soldier, has pleaded not guilty to related charges and is awaiting a separate trial.
Cisse, 42, from Ivory Coast, was shot dead on Triq il-Ġebel in the Ħal Far area, on the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, on 6 April 2019. The prosecution has described the killing as Malta's first racially motivated crime. Scicluna is additionally charged with the attempted murder of Mohammed Jallow from Gambia, Ibrahim Bah from Guinea, and May Malimi from Chad. The charges concerning Malimi relate to a separate incident two months before the shooting, in which the prosecution alleges that the two soldiers attempted to run him over with a car.
Medical emergency delays start of proceedings
The morning session opened with urology consultant Karl German, who told the court he had examined injuries sustained by Mohammed Jallow when he was shot in the leg. A CT scan, German said, showed the bullet had lodged in the back of Jallow's leg. Shortly after, proceedings were suspended due to a medical emergency in the courtroom while a doctor's advice was awaited. As a result, a reserve juror was brought onto the panel to replace one of the original jurors.
Judge rejects defence request on officer's mobile evidence
When the trial resumed, Judge Galea Sciberras issued a decree denying a defence request regarding the evidence of Police officer Matthew Theuma, who had given testimony in the previous sitting using his mobile phone. The judge rejected the application on account of the manner in which the evidence had been presented. German then concluded his testimony, confirming that Jallow had recovered by 20 April 2019.
Taxi driver recalls finding a body on the road
Taxi driver Christopher Bernard Farrugia, who had been driving a black van along Triq tal-Ġebel on the night of 6 April 2019, told the court he had spotted someone lying on the road and stopped. He turned his vehicle, saw a body, and called 112 to alert police. The recording of that call was played in court. Farrugia said he remained in his car at first, with the body to his left, then drove towards Ħal Far to confirm what he had seen. He told the court he also reported to police that he had seen another vehicle — a pick-up truck — speeding past. Under questioning from the defence, Farrugia confirmed he had not immediately realised that the figure on the ground was a body, and that in his 112 call he suggested the person may have been knocked down.
Emergency nurse gives evidence
Patrick Bonnett, an emergency department nurse at Mater Dei Hospital, gave evidence about the events of the same night, describing what he had witnessed when the victims were brought in.
Scene-of-crime officers present forensic evidence
Inspectors Michelle Camilleri and Mario Azzopardi, both scene-of-crime officers, described what they had found and documented at the scene after the victim was identified. Among the items noted near Cisse's body were a bag, headphones on the ground, a pool of blood, and three spent cartridges. Near Ibrahim Bah, a further number of spent cartridges and a pair of white headphones were also recorded. Several photographs were submitted as evidence, including images taken during the post-mortem examinations. Some jurors appeared visibly uncomfortable as the graphic photographs were displayed.
The accused left the courtroom while some of the images were being shown. When he was escorted back in, he appeared emotional, and became more so as the graphic details were presented. The court upheld a defence request to suspend proceedings briefly before the session resumed and evidence bags were opened before the jury.
Inspector Michelle Camilleri took the jurors through the contents of the bags: the victim's headphones, T-shirt, jeans, rucksack, belt, and the items found inside his bag.
Questions raised over blood spatter photographs
At the close of the morning session, the defence raised questions about photographs taken by Inspector Melvin Camilleri — including images of blood spatters, bullet holes dated 7 April, and a mark on a door jamb. The relevance of those details was being examined when the trial was suspended for the lunch break at 13:24. Proceedings were scheduled to resume at 15:25.
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Background: Scicluna was 22 years old and serving with the AFM when the murder took place. The court ruled in May 2019 that there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. Bail was granted in December 2019.
Source: Times of Malta