A man accused of murdering his mother and sister killed them and then got back into bed, pretending to be asleep, prosecutors said in court on Monday.

Joseph Bonnici, 38, from Ghaxaq, stands charged with the voluntary homicide of his mother, Marija Lourdes Bonnici and his sister, Angele Bonnici on 26 March.

Bonnici was also accused of hiding the bodies of his victims, filing a false police report, attempting to conceal evidence of the crime, using a firearm against another person, discharging a firearm in a residential area, carrying a firearm without the necessary licence, manufacturing a silencer for the weapon and manufacturing a firearm and ammunition without the required licence.

He is pleading not guilty to the charges brought against him.

Inspectors Keith Arnaud, John Spiteri and Roderick Attard are prosecuting. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri are appearing as defence counsel for the accused.

A court on Monday heard how he had carefully worked out his crime, preparing cloths to mop up the mess and building weapons he would then use in the murder in his garage workshop.

Arnaud gives the court details of how the murders were carried out: Bonnici had dug holes in the ground and was very angry at the women.

Bonnici manufactured the firearm himself and on the day looked at the weather and saw it was going to rain, which he wanted to. The accused lined the floor with sackcloth.

Bonnici knew that on March 26, his girlfriend would be back late from work and that it was due to rain, washing away traces of the murder, Inspector Keith Arnaud told the court.

On the day, he shut down his circuit breaker and called his sister over from next door, where she lived with their mother, under the pretext that he needed her help with an electric fault.

He shot her with her back turned and then smashed her head with a mallet – also home-made - to make sure she was dead. He then called his mother and repeated the entire process, a court heard.

His sister had been shot twice in the head and sustained “considerable” injuries to her face. Both bullets were lodged in her skull. His mother had been shot once, but there was no trace of the bullet.

Both were unrecognisable due to their injuries, the court was told. Arnaud says the daughter had been shot twice in the head, in her right temple and eye.

With both women dead, Bonnici allegedly wrapped their heads in garbage bags, which he tied up with clips to prevent blood from trickling out, and dragged them into his car. Bonnici had prepared a metal sheet to make it easier to move the bodies from the scene of the crime to the boot of his car.

He then went to bed and pretended to be asleep, getting up later that night to drive the corpses to a field.

Once there, he tied their legs together and dragged the two to his chosen spot alone. Arnaud explains to the court that Bonnici buried his mother first, putting his sister's body on top and then covered the bodies with a large amount of lime (gir) to reduce the smell.

When police officers found the bodies, his sister’s legs were still tied. Garbage bags were still tied around both women’s heads.  

The mother had a small pouch containing €4,500 close to her chest.

Joseph Bonnici had previously filed a missing persons report and was spoken to by the police about the disappearance of his mother and sister.

On 27 March Bonnici bought a power washer to clean the garden area, burned the sacks he had used and the cart he had built to carry the bodies. He also disposed of the firearm and mallet.

Arnaud says that before his arraignment, Bonnici had shown the police where he had disposed of the mallet, at a Wasteserv facility. The police discovered a partially burned two-handed mallet in a skip. It weighed 6.2kg.

Arnaud told the court that Bonnici claimed that his sister was "trying to report him for abuse and throw him in prison".

Bonnici claimed his mother was instigating things. Arnaud says no police report about the alleged abuse had been filed and neither were any social workers been contacted by the victims.

Inspector John Spiteri from the Vice Squad testified that he received a phone call from the Zejtun police station about the missing persons report.

Spiteri said that on 28 March he had been called up by the prison authorities saying that a certain Paul Bonnici, husband and father of the victims, had wanted to speak to him. The man had said that he was concerned by the fact that he would speak to his wife every day at the same time and she would never miss an appointment without prior notice.

The inspector informs the court of an ongoing civil case in which the father and his wife are to pay €80,000 in damages to the heirs of the victims of Paul’s murder. Paul Bonnici is serving a prison term after murdering two neighbours some 30 years ago, following a dispute.

The father had sold the family home to his son before going to prison and thought that this had caused discord between him and his sister.

Spiteri said that a number of neighbours, brothers and sisters of Paul Bonnici, were also spoken to by the police.

The accused had initially said that the sister and mother had probably fled Malta to avoid having to pay the €80,000 and leave the problem in his lap. Spiteri said that paycheques and electronic equipment found in the younger victim's bedroom and the mother's mobile phone and purse found in her bedroom led the police to disbelieve this theory.

Joseph Bonnici had also explained to the police that a strong smell of petroleum in the farmhouse was a method of controlling flea infestations on his livestock, Spiteri said.

Angele's employer had told police it was unusual for her not to turn up for work and felt suspicious when the accused had gone to ask whether she had gone to work and left as soon as he was told she hadn't.

The court was told how the accused called his sister several times the day after her murder, which police believe was an effort to try and cover his tracks

Bonnici then explained everything to the police and showed them where the bodies were buried.

Bonnici told the police that after shooting his sister twice, he saw that she was still breathing and smashed her head with the mallet, Spiteri said. Bonnici shot his mother once and immediately used the mallet on her. Spiteri testified that after the women were killed, Bonnici cleaned up and went to sleep as his girlfriend was coming home soon.

They slept in separate bedrooms and once he was sure his girlfriend was asleep, he went back down to the murder scene and loaded the bodies onto the cart he had made and buried them in the manner described earlier.

Inspector Spiteri said that when he asked the accused the reason for his actions, Bonnici explained that in 2009 his girlfriend had committed suicide in the same residence and in her suicide note she had written that now his mother could rest because she never liked the fact that the two were dating.

Amanda Camilleri, Joseph Bonnici’s partner of nine years, tells the court that she had gone to the police station twice on the night when the bodies were found. The second time, Joseph had called her when she was asleep.

Camilleri said that Joseph was saying ‘sorry… I'm so sorry" but didn't explain why. "I had a total breakdown... my mind was thinking about where they [the victims] could have been," Camilleri told the court.

Camilleri told the court that she arrives home from work around 6.30pm.  Joseph is a flower deliveryman. He would do maintenance at the house, which explains why he had the van and tools, she said. She said that the two families shared an electricity meter and would split the bill. When Joseph would be welding they would pay a bit more, she testified.

Asked whether Angele had ever told her of something personal involving Joseph, she answered yes. Camilleri said that Angele told her that when they were young, her brother Joseph had touched her and the mother was aware of this.

Asked about a previous relationship, Camilleri said she is aware that the accused's previous girlfriend had committed suicide.

Cross-examined by defence lawyer Franco Debono, Camilleri confirmed that Joseph’s mother did not have a good relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Camilleri saind that Lourdes [Bonnici’s mother] had told her that her father had been murdered. The witness said she cannot recall any related stigma in the family.

Camilleri said "Joseph is the most amazing person I know. He always pushes me to succeed. He saved me from an abusive relationship. I always saw respect and love from him. He was never violent, not even towards our animals."

Inspector Arnaud, re-examining the woman, asked whether there had been any incidents of violence she saw or that he told her about. Camilleri answered “no”. She added that Joseph had never said anything against his mother and sister.

A number of police officers testified next, with the court being told that a Beretta shotgun, a Webley air rifle and a Browning shotgun had been seized.

An officer from the Vice Squad said that the accused had said that his sister had not returned from work and that their father had told him to file a police report. He later called the police after an online news portal said the two women had been found.

The police officer said that she had been taken aback and informed him that she would check. Bonnici had told her that he expected to be informed first as a family member.

The court also heard how the women were seen on CCTV footage wearing pyjamas, indicating that they were not planning on going anywhere. The footage stopped at around 9pm, when the circuit breaker was tripped.

The case continues on Monday 15 April.