One of the three men accused of a grisly double murder in Sliema back in 2020 has agreed to a 40-year prison sentence and is set to soon plead guilty of his part in the assassination.

The man – Danish national Jesper Kristiansen – was arrested in Cadiz, Spain some 10 days after the murder of doctor-turned-investment-banker Christian Pandolfino and his partner Ivor Maciejowski on 18th August 2020.

The other two men facing murder charges are Albanian national Daniel Muka and Macedonian national Viktor Dragomanski.

Today, prosecutors (who had opted to charge the three men separately) informed Malta’s Criminal Court that Kristiansen, Muka and Dragomanski had been put together under one joint bill of indictment. Now, it has emerged that while the three were to stand trial together, Kristiansen’s defence team Stefano Filletti and Roberto Montalto and the prosecution had agreed on the terms of a plea bargain.

Kristiansen is now expected to plead guilty to the murder, agreeing to a punishment of 40 years. 

As a result, the Attorney General’s lawyer Kevin Valletta asked for Muka and Dragomanski to be separated from proceedings, a request which was upheld by the court.

Kristiansen – who is set to confirm his plea in another sitting soon – could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, but will now also be able to testify against the other two men without fear of incriminating himself.

On Tuesday 18th August, Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski were found dead inside their home in Locker Street, Sliema. CCTV footage shows the murderers only spent four minutes inside the building. However, following the arrest of Daniel Muka days later, police commissioner Angelo Gafa had said the crime was likely motivated by theft, stating that gold items could have been stolen from the house.

What do you make of this latest development?