Muka And Dragomanski Found Guilty Of Sliema Double Murder And Theft
Daniel Muka and Victor Dragomanski were found guilty of two different charges related to the brutal murder and theft of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski in their Sliema home. Both carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Muka was found unanimously guilty of the 2020 double murder by a jury after a 12-day trial.
Victor Dragomanski, Muka’s co-accused, was acquitted of complicity in homicide by a 6-3 jury verdict but found guilty of theft leading to homicide – an offence that also carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Muka, meanwhile, was unanimously convicted on several charges, which included theft, unlawful detention of victims, and illegal possession of a firearm.
The verdict came yesterday while the sentencing will come at a later date.
Muka, Dragomanski, and a third man – Jesper Kristiansen, who was tried separately and got 40 years in prison – had conspired to break into a home on Locker Street and steal valuables from the property.
At the start of the robbery, Dragomanski remained in the stolen Volkswagen Tiguan, which the trio had planned to use as a getaway car.
Jurors heard from Kristiansen, who said he and Muka had agreed to use violence but not weapons, and claimed Dragomanski was unaware of this plan.
He recalled seeing Muka and Pandolfino at the house door, followed by shouting and a sound like fireworks. When he approached, Muka told him, “I had to shoot,” before going upstairs and fatally shooting Maciejowski. Pandolfino had already been shot five times.
Kristiansen ran to the car and told Dragomanski things had gone wrong. They returned to the house just as Muka came out, handing Dragomanski a gold necklace.
The men spent less than four minutes inside the Sliema home, police later confirmed. They fled in the same vehicle, which was later abandoned at the St Luke’s Hospital car park. Kristiansen then ordered a taxi to another address in Sliema.
All three were identified and arrested in the following days. Muka was the first to be apprehended, Dragomanski was caught days later in a Gżira hotel, and Kristiansen was tracked down in Spain and extradited.
Muka refused to cooperate during his trial, rejecting legal aid and later having to follow proceedings remotely from another room in the Valletta law courts due to disruptive behaviour.
The case was presided over by Madam Justice Natasha Galea Sciberras.
Prosecution was led by AG lawyers Maria Francesca Spiteri and Kevin Valletta. Dragomanski was assisted by lawyers José Herrera and Alex Scerri Herrera, while legal aid lawyer Josette Sultana represented Muka. Lawyers Joe Giglio and Michaela Giglio represented the victims’ families.