Abner Aquilina boasted about the rape and murder of Paulina Dembska, parte civile lawyer Stefano Filletti has claimed. 

“We find it inconsistent that a man who boasted about what he did isn’t here because he had a psychotic episode,” Filletti said in today’s sitting of the compilation of evidence against Aquilina.

“We know that he’s telling people how proud he is of what he did, and I hope the court hears how Aquilina responded when he was asked whether he feels any remorse for what he had done.”

“These are questions her family wants to be answered. If you consider that to be pressure, that’s the reality. Besides the accused, there is also the victim’s family and justice must be done for them too.”

Today’s sitting did focus on the mental health of Aquilina, with psychiatrist Joseph Saliba telling the court that in prison, he refused his medication, shaved his head and started exhibiting signs of strange behaviour.

Filetti asked whether it was strange that Aquilina displayed this psychotic episode two days before the sitting, hinting that Aquilina was putting on a show for the court.

“We can’t be left at the accused’s whims.”

“Otherwise, he can just keep saying that the devil is talking to him two days before the sitting and will get transferred to the forensic unit and the case will get stuck,” he said.

Aquilina’s lawyer, Mario Mifsud, took umbrage with the questioning, insisting that the process should continue, even if people disagree with the psychiatrist’s conclusions. 

Dembska, a 29-year-old Polish national, was murdered on 2nd January at Sliema’s Independence Gardens, where she used to feed stray cats. Aquilina, a 20-year-old Maltese man, was arrested and charged shortly afterwards.

Aquilina, who is pleading not guilty, has told police that he was a “soldier from God” and was acting upon the orders of “frequencies” in the lead up to the murder.

You can follow all the developments in today’s sitting via Lovin Malta’s live blog of the sitting. 

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