The man accused of murdering his partner said he did it out of jealousy following an evening where he saw how much fun she was having with her friend.

Lawrence Abina, charged with the murder of Rita Ellul, allegedly told police he became jealous when he saw Rita and her friend Joyce “laughing” and having a good time together the evening before the murder in Gozo.

He went on to tell police that Rita had discovered that he had cheated on her, and that she had told him she was thinking about leaving him and starting a new relationship with someone else as she wasn’t happy with him anymore.

This all came out during a cigarette break with police while under custody, where Abina apparently became emotional, starting crying, changed his version of events (he had originally said he hadn’t committed the murder) and said he regretted what he did.

This testimony emerged during the compilation of evidence today in front of Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech.

When it came to the night in question, Abina said he closed his eyes as he placed his hands on Rita’s neck, strangling her as she was asleep, because he said he “couldn’t bear” to look at her as he killed her.

Prosecutors also noted that when Abina was shown a copy of a domestic violence report Rita had filed against Abina back in 2020, he had said it was an “isolated incident” and she had forgiven him.