Pawney said that Roderick had parked his car near Triq Kordin and drove towards Bernice as soon she approached, blocking her exit. Bernice is believed to have been driving to work at the time.

Roderick got out of his car and told inquisitive drivers to keep on driving, leading some to assume that the two cars had been involved in a collision. Indeed, the first police report on the incident was that there had been a traffic accident.

However, it later became clear that something far more serious was taking place and footage showed Bernice on the floor screaming for help.

A Maltese man told police that he had tried to calm the situation down but that Roderick warned him to back off or risk getting shot at. As he was walking away, he heard a gun going off and firing.

An Indian Bolt driver who was passing by saw Roderick shoot his estranged wife in the face and chest and quickly reported it to the police.

Police believe that the entire incident between Roderick’s confrontation of Bernice and the murder lasted around seven to eight minutes.

During the sitting, it also emerged that shortly after the murder, Roderick called up Bernice’s father Joe Cilia to inform him that he had killed his daughter and that their children would end up in an institute.

Cilia tried to call his daughter but Roderick answered the phone, reiterating that he had killed her.   

Following questions by lawyer Stefano Filletti, who is representing Bernice’s family parte civile, Pawney confirmed that the murder suspect had attacked the victim with a knife in May 2022, after which she moved in with her family.

Bernice had filed a domestic violence report against her husband on the night before the murder and police found seven missed calls from him to her between 9pm and 10pm on that night.