Mr Vella’s condition was reported to be stable in spite of his serious injuries.

The man lay unconscious beneath his car for a while until he was discovered by his wife at around 7am, after she received a call from his brother asking why he had not arrived at work yet. Mr Vella works as a building contractor with his brother.

Mrs Vella went down to the garage to find her husband bleeding and trapped beneath his car. After stabbing Mr Vella and beating him over the head with a metal bar, the assailant reportedly pushed him under the car and deflated the tyres, thus trapping him. By the time the ambulance arrived some 20 minutes later, Mr Vella was conscious but not in a position to give details about his assailant. It is thought that the assailant was inside the garage when Mr Vella went to open it in the morning.

It is not yet clear how the attacker managed to get inside. Nothing is being excluded; however, it is possible that the assailant managed to break in the night before through a small window that gives access to the garage.

Upon discovering her husband, Mrs Vella ran out to get help from her neighbours. Sources said that one of Mrs Vella’s neighbours rushed to the garage to give her a hand lifting the car off Mr Vella’s body, but they did not manage. The women were later helped by a couple of construction workers who were driving along the street and helped pull Mr Vella from under the car.

The motive behind the attack is not yet known. However, it seems that Mr Vella had received threats for a while prior to the attack, sources said.

Duty Magistrate Antonio Mizzi was informed of the case and began an on site inquiry and appointed various experts to help. The St Julian’s district police are investigating.