Ronnie Azzopardi claims central witness had lied during murder trial

The case reaches back to June 2005, when Ronnie Azzopardi had clashed with his late brother’s partner, Mary Rose Cassar, over the inheritance left by his sibling who had been murdered in Bormla in 2001

By: maltatoday.com

Sep 12 2024
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Ronnie Azzopardi claims centr

Ronnie Azzopardi, the man who was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for the car bomb murder of his brother’s partner Angela Bondin, has asked that his sentence be revoked.

Azzopardi's request comes following his claim that a central witness in his trial had recently confessed to the convict’s father that he had “not really recognised” Azzopardi as the person who had placed the explosive device beside the victim’s car.

In a court application filed by Azzopardi’s lawyers: Jose Herrera, David Camilleri and Martina Herrera, on Thursday, it was claimed that Joseph Grima had given false evidence when he had told the court that he had been on the roof of the house together with his wife, Therese, setting up decorations for the Żejtun feast.

Grima had testified that from their roof, he and his wife Therese could observe the goings-on in Triq il-Madonna tal-Ħniena. “In fact they saw a car stop, saw the defendant emerge from it and place what they thought to be a rubbish bag in the road and leave.”

Therese Grima had testified that the rubbish bag seemed to be heavy and had appeared to contain a battery connected to several wires. Bondin had happened to be passing by and had helped her carry the bag to a construction site. After moving the bag, the women had stopped to chat, at which point the bomb it contained, detonated.

Bondin’s life was snuffed out by the explosion, which also left Grima grievously injured.

Azzopardi’s lawyers are now stating that their client had “gotten to know” that the eyewitness, Joseph Grima, had recently been publicly stating that he had never identified the defendant as the person who planted the bomb. After informing his son about this, the son and Azzopardi’s father had paid the witness a visit to speak to him about the matter.

The lawyers claim that Grima told the men that it was not true that he had recognised Azzopardi as the person who placed the bomb, and that he was prepared to go to prison instead of Azzopardi “if he had said so.”

The application requests the court to declare that Azzopardi had therefore been convicted on the strength of evidence which subsequently turned out to be false and revoke his sentence.