Ramiro Mallia’s last moments before his tragic death were relived in an emotional episode on Xarabank, aired on Lovin Malta.

“He messaged me to say that he was going to go get washed and that he would come to pick me up,” Shanise, his girlfriend of two years, told Peppi Azzopardi. 

She was joined by his mother, Marylis, and father, Joseph, who tearfully shared their grief throughout the episode. Shanise told Azzopardi how she still messages Ramiro, who would call her every day on her walks from the bus stop to her house. 

“He knew I didn’t like those walks. I still look to my phone and message, I just don’t get a reply,” she said.

Ramiro died on 23rd March 2021 after he was discovered unconscious on the floor of the bathroom of his home. It is believed that a gas leak from a bathroom heater led to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Joseph, Ramiro’s father, described the traumatic moment of discovering his son that day. Few words spoke volumes, with Joseph walking through the painful process. 

His mother, Marylis, shared her last moments with her son, also recounting how he last told her how he was going to get washed before picking up Shanice. 

“We can never return to how we were,” she said.

Azzopardi, and the family, had some stern criticism for media reporting on the incident – questioning how details were leaked to the press before they were informed and before an official autopsy was even concluded.

Ramiro’s legacy lives on, as this week’s Xarabank episode showed, with Azzopardi and the family running through his lifelong commitment to volunteering and helping the community

While Ramiro was taken much too early in life –it is clear that he is not forgotten.