A 32-year-old man will stand trial for the murder of his former girlfriend after a court of appeal denied his plea of insanity.

David Norbert Schembri, from Sliema, underwent a trial on June 2007 to establish whether he was insane during the commission of the crime. The panel of jurors had found him sane during the commission of the crime with an eight-to-one verdict.

On 3 May 2004, Mr Schembri fired at Josette Scicluna's front door in San Gwann and stabbed her 47 times with a knife he found in her house. The murder took place in front of their seven-year-old daughter.

The court of appeal, presided over by Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, Mr Justice David Scicluna and Mr Justice Joseph Micallef, upheld the jurors’ decision and ordered the acts to be sent to the Criminal Court to appoint a trial where Mr Schembri will face the murder charges.