Mario Cardona, 36 from Victoria, Gozo, today was acquitted of fraud in what can be seen as a bizarre attempt to invoke a 30,000 year-old demon with the name "Bezuzu", to help a woman, Carol Milroy, get get back at then husband Iain Gilbert Milroy following an alleged affair in October 2014.

But besides the occult aspect, Mr Cardona was accused of fraud by the prosecution after he charged Ms Milroy €3,000 to perform the ritual. The demon was meant to ruin Mr Milroy's new relationship leading to him returning to his wife.

Mr Milroy found out about the transaction when he saw details in Facebook messages between the accused and his then wife. The couple has since divorced.

The prosecution, led by Inspector Bernard Charles Spiteri, presented documents which show that Ms Milroy approached the accused herself saying, "Do you know a simple curse that I can cast on the woman that Iain had an affair with? She is not back home in France... Sorry to ask but hate this woman so much." As such, the court held that one could not reach the conclusion that the accused had, in any way, deceived Ms Milroy.  

During his testimony, Inspector Frank Anthony Tabone told the court that Ms Milroy never actually spoke to him about the case after the initial report in 2014 and showed no interest in going ahead with the criminal case against the accused. The only relevant factor is that the report states that Mr Cardona "failed to return the money back to Carol Milroy."

In the end, given the lack of concrete evidence presented against Mr Cardona, the court, presided by Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge Mario Cardona with fraud and ordered his release.