Malta Independent

The brother-in-law and uncle of two men found murdered in Birzebbuga, Jason Galea, was this evening charged with the double murder.

Galea, 39, of Birzebbuga, was accused of shooting Mario Camilleri, 58, known as l-Imniehru at 12.45pm in Marsaxlokk on Wednesday and later his son Mario (Jr) 21 at Qajjenza.

He was charged with committing the crime together with one or more persons.

He pleaded not guilty.

The two men were reported to be missing – and untraceable – by Mona Camilleri, the elder victim’s wife and the younger victim’s mother, on Wednesday evening.

The Vice Squad, which is led by Supt Paul Vassallo, opened investigations into what began as a missing persons case.

Supt Vassallo explained during a crime conference that Mr Camilleri Snr was last seen at 1100h on Wednesday, when he signed the bail book at the St Julians police station. He was using his dark grey Volkswagen Passat on the day. The son was last seen entering a small car at around noon that day.

Due to the way the situation was developing, the Criminal Investigation Department was then brought in with Assistant Commissioner Pierre Calleja leading investigations, with the assistance of the Vice Squad and district police.

AC Calleja said that information the police had received led to the arrest of two persons on Thursday evening, and that investigations led the police to a field in Qajjenza, close to the disused gas bottling facility.

Two men’s bodies were found partially buried under a tree later that night, and these were identified to be the missing father and son.

Post-mortems showed that Mr Camilleri Jnr was stabbed repeatedly – he had “around 34” stab wounds, according to AC Calleja – and shot, while Mr Camilleri Snr appears to have been shot dead, although this still needs to be confirmed.

The younger Mr Camilleri was killed on site, but it is not yet known whether the father was. According to AC Calleja, the two men were likely killed on Wednesday afternoon.

An unexpected twist occurred this morning, when forensic investigators on site unearthed the remains of a foot belonging to a third person, “very close” to where the two men had been found.

AC Calleja said that this person had not yet been identified – at this point, it is not known whether the remains belong to a man or a woman – and that it was too early to link this discovery to the double murder.

Mr Camilleri Snr’s Volkswagen was discovered in Ghaxaq this afternoon, at around 1700h, while a Peugeot Partner van believed to be linked to the crime was discovered burnt in Zabbar.

Both victims are well known to the police.

The elder Mr Camilleri had been jailed for 16 years over drug trafficking, a sentence reduced by four years over appeal. The appeal itself led to the conviction of Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and Judge Patrick Vella, who were found guilty of taking bribes to reduce his sentence.

After his release from prison, he faced fresh heroin trafficking charges in 2007, and was out on bail while awaiting a trial by jury.

The younger Mr Camilleri has also been arraigned on a number of occasions since he was 16, with charges including assault and the unlawful possession of a firearm.