Jean Paul Busuttil was just trying to take a detour on a quiet country road with his wife and mother-in-law when he was shot dead in front of them following a minor traffic accident.

The family had set out early on Sunday morning to watch their daughter play volleyball, avoiding a main road under construction by taking a rural route through Bidnija. But the morning turned into a nightmare when their Volvo collided with a Yamaha motorcycle driven by Mohamed Hamdan, a man they had never met before.

Hamdan, a 45-year-old Libyan national living in Bidnija, was allegedly driving the wrong way on a narrow one-way road when the accident happened. What should have been a routine exchange of insurance details quickly spiralled into fatal violence.

A police officer driving behind the Volvo intervened to calm tensions and called LESA to send a warden before leaving. But by the time the LESA officer arrived, the argument had reignited.

According to courtroom testimony, Hamdan told Busuttil, “Wait for me, you’ll soon know who I am. You’ll see what I’m capable of,” before storming off. Minutes later, he returned, pushed the LESA officer aside, and shot Busuttil five times at close range – right in front of his wife and her mother. A sixth shot struck the LESA vehicle.

In her heart-wrenching testimony delivered via video call, Mirjam Busuttil, the victim’s widow, described the horror of witnessing her husband collapse in front of her, bleeding from his neck.

“I looked into his eyes, and the look was gone,” she said.

She recounted how Hamdan’s son, who arrived at the scene after the crash, warned her to get back into the car because “I don’t trust my father.” Minutes later, that warning became reality.

Mirjam said she moved Hamdan’s motorcycle out of the way and drove her wounded husband herself, desperately trying to reach the hospital. They flagged down an ambulance en route, but he was declared dead at 9:13am.

The couple’s day had started like any other. Their daughter had a volleyball match, and they had planned to watch and support her. That morning, the only difference was the road they took, and the man they encountered.

The court also heard from Busuttil’s mother-in-law, who confirmed hearing five gunshots and described Hamdan throwing a shoe at her and her daughter as they tried to help the victim.

Hamdan was arrested on site and told police, “Yes, I fired.” But when taken to police headquarters, he refused legal counsel and declined to provide fingerprints or DNA. “My lawyer is God,” he reportedly said.

He now faces multiple charges, including wilful homicide, firearm offences, and recidivism. There is no known connection between Hamdan and the Busuttil family, and prosecutors say he had only recently moved into the area.