46 | SEPTEMBER 29, 2024 ThE SunDay TiMES of MalTa LIFE AND WELL-BEING HISTORY ThE SunDay TiMES of MalTa SEPTEMBER 29, 2024 | 47 1899 – Carlo Gatt Senglea witnessed another mur- der on May 29, 1899. At about 10.30pm, Alfredo Formosa, 35, from Senglea, and others, includ- ing Carlo Gatt, 29, also from Sen- glea, were dancing and joking in a bar in Victory Street. Suddenly, the mirth turned into wrangling between Formosa and Gatt, and some unpleasant words were exchanged. Formosa called the police, and after their arrival, matters were smoothed over, and eventually, the two were per- suaded to return to their respec- tive homes. However, according to The Daily Malta Chronicle of May 30, 1899, “it transpires that, after an hour, Formosa fell in with Gatt in St Joseph Street, Senglea. The for- mer had an open razor in hand and, no sooner did he observe Gatt, that he flourished it aloft and fiercely attacked him, cutting Gatt’s throat so savagely that the two carotid arteries were severed, and death from haemorrhage ensued immediately.” Formosa was arrested, and on May 29, a post-mortem examina- tion was held on the victim’s corpse. Formosa was brought before Magistrate Dr Parnis on capital charges and a trial by jury was held on November 24, 1899. Lawyer Alfredo Caruana Gatto so ably defended the case that the verdict was six against three. With this judgment, the court’s sen- tence was life imprisonment. 1926 – anDrea Gatt Another terrible murder took place in Senglea on June 29, 1926. At about 5.35pm, Andrea Gatt, 43, was outside Fourth September Bar, opposite Senglea parish church, when three rough and barefooted refuse collectors passed by. Uttering obscene lan- guage, they pelted with cherry stones some children playing near the bar. Gatt remonstrated with them, and one drew a long, thin knife and stabbed him. Gatt himself drew the knife from the wound and then col- lapsed. He was taken inside the bar, where he died, attended by Don Antonio Grech. District med- ical officer Francis Scolaro was immediately called to the bar but could do nothing to save his life. The Daily Malta Chronicle of June 30, 1926, affirmed that “Great excitement prevailed till late at night throughout the whole of Senglea where expressions of regret and indignation at the foul murder were general. The wife of the unfortunate victim, who was in delicate health expecting her seventh child shortly, was at the time inside the church and, on coming out, she was made aware of the terrible tragedy just enacted”. The magistrate on duty held an investigation on the spot, and or- dered the removal of the corpse to the Central Civil Hospital’s mortuary for the prescribed inquest. The police immediately started tracking the murderer. Joseph Hall testified to the po- lice that it was Carmelo Mizzi, 20, who had hit Gatt. They pro- ceeded to his parents’ residence in Senglea where they found him washing, with a bundle of clothes next to him, ready to flee. After a trial by jury held on October 5, 1926, Mizzi was found unanimously guilty and sen- tenced to 20 years in prison. 1949 – UGolino FormoSa On March 17, 1949, 52-year-old Ugolino Formosa was found seri- ously injured in Two Gates Street, Senglea. On being admitted at the Central Hospital, Formosa said that, while drunk, he stepped on a broken bottle and suffered a wound in his abdomen. Formosa was operated on and, although it seemed that the operation was successful, he died the following day. Later, the police received infor- mation that the victim’s wound was caused by a knife blow during a dispute he had with 34-year-old Gioacchino Block. Investigations began, and the police sought to interrogate Block. What origi- nally appeared to be an accident turned out to be homicide. As it transpired that Block had left Malta, a circular was sent to various foreign police bodies with information about him. As a re- sult, on June 25, 1949, the Tripoli police informed the Malta police that Block was arrested in Tripoli, and subsequently he was brought to Malta. Although he confessed that he had a dispute with Ugolino, Block denied the use of a weapon. Nonetheless, at a trial by jury that started on November 8, 1949, Block was accused of deliberately attacking Ugolino with a razor in the stomach, intending to kill him, or endangering his life, caus- ing an inch-long wound. The pros- ecution expounded that this was a voluntary homicide as Formosa died after a few hours. During the trial, the story emerged as to why Block had waylaid Formosa. On August 29, 1948, Formosa and Block had met in a bar. At one point, Block remarked that cer- tain people slept outside, words undoubtedly addressed to For- mosa who was homeless. To this, Formosa reacted with harsh words, saying: “Although I sleep outside, I am neither blind nor deaf.” Since he had a false eye made of glass, Block felt offended by Formosa’s words, swearing to kill him. They became aggressive, though the bystanders diffused the situation. The affair tem- porarily calmed down, till a few months later. Block finally exe- cuted what he had pledged to do. Vincent Xerri, the defence lawyer, alleged that there was a provocation by the victim when he reviled the accused about a bodily defect. In their verdict, the jurors unanimously found the accused not guilty according to the indict- ment but guilty of inflicting a se- rious wound on Formosa. The court sentenced Block to four years in prison with hard labour. 1971 – Carmelo CoSta On the night between May 5 and 6, 1971, Carmelo Costa, 27, from Sen- glea, was killed at his residence in Victory Street, Senglea. The news surfaced when a certain Jessy Sti- vala was approached by Maria Costa to wash some blood-stained clothes in the washing machine. Understandably, Stivala asked what had happened. “Because last night we got rid of Carmelo,” replied Maria. Shocked, Stivala not only did not accept to take the clothes but told her husband, who informed the police. With this information, Superin- tendent Anthony Mifsud Tom- masi went to Costa’s house and asked for Carmelo. Maria told him that Carmelo had left the house the night before, and did not re- turn. When confronted with what Stivala had revealed, Maria admit- ted that her husband was killed, indicating that it was a certain Crispino Delia who committed the crime. In her statement, Maria re- counted that after her husband fell asleep, she silently opened the front door to let Delia in, who started hitting Carmelo’s head with a hammer. From the investigation carried out, it resulted that after the crime, Maria hired a taxi by which she went to Xagħjra where she threw some towels and the weapon used during the crime in the sea. These towels were later found by the police, but the weapon, believed to be an iron pipe, was never retrieved. Meanwhile, the police arrested Delia, who, while admitting that he was present during the crime and that he had dragged Carmelo’s body over the rocks be- fore throwing it over the sheer cliffs into the sea at Għar Ħasan, denied that he hit the victim with a hammer. Costa’s body was found by a Royal Navy frogman. Costa was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a pink chequered shirt and a brown suede jacket. He was also wearing socks but no shoes. The body showed evidence of brutal treatment. After an au- topsy, it became known that Costa’s death was caused by nu- merous fractures in the skull, a tear in the brain and shortness of breath. The Times of Malta of May 8, 1971, reported that the “the police announced last night that Mrs Maria Costa, 21, of Senglea, and Crispino Delia, 24, of Vittoriosa, will appear before an examining magistrate this morning charged with having on Wednesday, May 5, ‘maliciously and with intent to kill Carmelo Costa or to put his life in manifest jeopardy, caused the death of Carmelo Costa, husband of Maria Costa’”. From the investigation it be- came known that in April 1969, Maria started working in a hotel while her husband was in prison serving a two-year sentence on a theft charge. Here, Maria met Delia and thus began a friendship which also led to the woman placing her two children in a children’s home. After Costa was released from prison, and knowing of his wife’s friendship with Delia, he went to the hotel and gave notice that his wife was no longer going to work. Despite this, Maria and Delia continued to meet secretly and then planned how to eliminate Carmelo. The trial by jury of Maria Costa and Delia, held in November 1971, was the first after the abolition of the death penalty in Malta. The judge in this case was Joseph Flo- res, while the prosecution was conducted by Oliver Gulia. During their defence, lawyers Joseph Brincat and Paul Mallia claimed that the victim was a psy- chopath who started his criminal life aged just 12. Costa and Delia were found guilty of the charges brought against them. Maria was sen- tenced to a life imprisonment and Delia was sentenced 18 years in prison. 1977 ‒ Cyril albert JoSeph roDDa After Cyril Albert Joseph Rodda, a 60-year-old official in the Royal Air Force, failed, for two consecu- tive days, to go and buy the news- paper from a stationery in Senglea, the owner started to worry. This was the first sign that something unusual had happened to Rodda, since buying the daily newspaper was his routine. Rodda was found dead at his residence in Siren Street, Sen- glea, on February 21, 1977. Ac- cording to The Times of Malta of February 23, 1977, he “had been living here for many years”, adding that he “was found on his bed with an undervest around his neck by an English couple who were his neighbours”. Actu- ally, the couple, with the sur- name Michaelis, lived on the second floor in the same apart- ment block where the victim lived and had known each other for quite some time. Several police officers, includ- ing members from the Depart- ment of Criminal Investigations, reached the scene of the crime. Magistrate Ronald Conti held an on-site inquiry with the help of various experts. Joseph Fiorini, the government doctor, certified Rodda dead and ordered an au- topsy on the corpse. Initially this case seemed to be a suicide. But after further inves- tigation, the authorities con- cluded that this was a homicide. Led by Inspector Alfred Calleja, the police began to gather sus- pected persons who, in previous days, were seen with Rodda or who were close to his apartment. The investigators detained some men from Senglea for several hours and interrogated others known to the police in criminal circles. However, the Rodda case remained unsolved. aCknowleDGmentS: The author acknowledges the use of Eddie Attard’s Delitti f ’Malta (2001). Concluded. Part 1 was published on September 15. FABIAN MANGION Darkness of the past unravelled: stories of murders in Senglea (2) Lawyer Alfredo Caruana Gatto, who defended the court case of Carlo Gatt. Portrait by Edward Caruana Dingli, c 1920. Death and burial registration of Andrea Gatt in the Senglea parish archives – Liber Defunctorum, Vol. XII, p345. This registration states ‘violenta morte’ (violent death). The Central Hospital for infectious deceases in Floriana, where Ugolino Formosa died. PHOTO: EDDIE ATTARD Vincent Xerri, the defence lawyer in Ugolino Gatt’s case. Victory Street, Senglea, were Carmelo Costa was murdered. The body of Carmelo Costa on a vessel after being retrieved from the sea. (Malta News, May 8, 1971)