Lawrence Abina Sentenced To Life In Prison For Strangling Partner Rita Ellul To Death
Lawrence Abina will spend the rest of his life at Kordin after a jury found him guilty of murdering his partner Rita Ellul in Għajnsielem in 2022.
“The court can’t ignore the heinous nature of the crime and the callous way in which it was executed, strangling her while she was asleep and helpless” Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras stated after a jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict.
She also flagged how Abina had disturbed the crime scene after killing Ellul to make it seem as though she had died as a result of natural causes and that he had stumbled onto her dead body in bed.
The judge said that this crime must be punished to the full extent of the law, and that the 32-year-old Ghanian national must therefore spend the rest of his life in prison.
By Maltese law, life imprisonment literally means spending the rest of your life in prison.
It is an extremely rare sentence, and as of 2023, only 13 prisoners – nine Maltese and four foreigners – were serving life sentences.
Rest in peace Rita Ellul
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