Majority Of Malta’s Recent Murders Due To Domestic Violence, Superintendent Reveals
Just under half of all murders committed in Malta in recent years were due to domestic violence, the Superintendent in charge of the homicide squad has revealed.
Interviewed on ONE Breakfast this morning, Keith Arnaud gave a breakdown of the 17 murders that took place in Malta between 2018 and 2021.
Domestic violence was the most common suspected motive by far, amounting to seven of the 17 cases. Four were linked to fights, one to robbery, two to criminal activity, and three remain unclear.
“While establishing a motive isn’t important in the eyes of the law, it can be used to strengthen legal arguments,” Arnaud said. “It is therefore important for police to establish a motive, even to help you find the killer.”
Recent figures show that over 96% of domestic violence court cases in Malta fail to result in a conviction, with the vast majority of proceedings “exhausted”.
A case can be exhausted for a number of reasons, including victims who forgive their abusers, refuse to testify against them or withdraw their initial criminal complaint.
Separate statistics also show that 136 people ended up at Mater Dei’s hospital emergency department because of domestic abuse between 2019 and 2020.
Two years ago, the police set up a new Anti-Gender And Domestic Violence Unit with the intention of offering specialised support to domestic violence victims, with the assistance of social workers.
Are you surprised by these figures?
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