A man accused of strangling his partner to death at the family home is facing trial by jury after his insanity plea was dismissed four years ago.

Michael Emmanuel, a 33-year old Ivorian national, is accused of murdering Maria Lourdes Agius, 35, in September 2018 at her Paola apartment.

Agius, a mother of seven, was found dead in bed with heavy bruising around her neck.

Emmanuel had turned up at the police station telling officers that his partner would not wake up from her sleep. When police visited the house, they realised she was dead.

Under interrogation Emmanuel told investigators that on the night of the murder, Agius had told him that he was not the father of her youngest child.

The victim’s mother, who used to live with the couple, had described a deteriorating relationship and various violent episodes between her daughter and the accused.

Emmanuel was subsequently charged with wilful homicide and in July 2019, his lawyers argued that he was legally insane at the time of the crime.

A psychiatrist who examined the accused had testified that Emmanuel had some delusions of grandeur and appeared paranoid about his partner, diagnosing him with acute psychosis.

A jury had thrown out Emmanuel’s plea of legal insanity by eight votes to one, paving the way for a trial by jury that started today.

The murder trial is presided over by Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja, who addressed jurors on Monday morning on how the legal system worked and what was expected of them.

Lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace is appearing for Emmanuel while the prosecution is being led by lawyers Maria Francesca Spiteri and Anthony Vella from the Attorney General’s office.