Erin Tanti, Partner And Doctor Plead Not Guilty Over Illegal IVF Treatment
The courtroom was packed on today as Erin Tanti, his partner Marisa Gallo, and St James Hospital founder Josie Muscat faced charges over allegedly carrying out illegal IVF, after Tanti, a convicted murderer, reportedly impregnated his partner while behind bars.
All three pleaded not guilty as reported by Times Of Malta to transferring cells without authorisation. Tanti, 34, is also accused of carrying out the procedure in November 2024 while serving a 20-year prison sentence for the death of 15-year-old Lisa Maria Zahra.
Muscat, 82, former MP and hospital founder, faces multiple charges: assisting in medically assisted procreation for someone who wasn’t a prospective parent, using an unlicensed clinic, and failing to maintain a confidential register of procedures.
Investigators allege a prison doctor helped Tanti get his semen out of the facility to the clinic where Muscat performed the IVF. That doctor has since been suspended.
He was a former drama teacher, pleaded guilty of causing the death of his 15-year-old student in 2014, and was serving a 20-year sentence. Despite being under strict supervision with no intimate access to his partner, he reportedly fathered a child, raising questions about prison oversight.
Family members, including Zahra’s father Tony, were present in court, witnessing a case that has reignited public debate over the embryo protection law and prison security.
The arrests date back to May, and the trial is now underway, shining a spotlight on how such a procedure could occur behind bars.
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