An appeals court yesterday threw out an appeal by convicted triple murderer Albert Ellul, who is serving life in prison for killing three people in 1992.

Albert Ellul, now 58, was sentenced to life imprisonment after a trial by jury in which he was found guilty of murdering Twanny Baldacchino, Marie Rose Baldacchino and Antoine Baldacchino by firing at them with a shotgun on 17 May 1992. He was also found guilty of attempting to murder Carmen Azzopardi.

The court was presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, Mr Justice Ray Pace and Mr Justice David Scicluna.

In the 1997 jury, it was heard how Ellul’s son was allegedly stabbed with a knife by Matthew Baldacchino. Ellul went to look for him and found Twanny Baldacchino at a local club in Zejtun, where he shot him. He had claimed that he was on his way to turn himself in to police, but encountered Marie Rose and Antoine Baldacchino along the way, both of whom were screaming and shouting. He shot both of them.

The accused did not appeal from the verdict handed down in 1997 but appealed from the punishment handed down by that jury. He said that he was provoked by his son’s stabbing and, as a result, was under harsh mental stress and could not weigh up the consequences of his actions. He also said that during the jury, the judge’s address seemed to imply that the defence team had not presented a clear case.

The judges forming the court of appeal pointed out that the jury was capable of listening to the testimony, sifting through the evidence and weighing the accused’s character.

The judges stressed the fact that the jury had taken everything into account and produced a guilty verdict.

The court also pointed out that the accused testified in his own defence during his trial, in which he denied that he had any knowledge of having shot at Twanny Baldacchino. He had said that he knew he was holding a shotgun in his hand, but did not know whether he had taken aim or fired at Twanny Baldacchino.

The appeals court, however, made reference to the statement which the accused released to the police shortly after the incident where he was quoted as saying, “I went to the club, saw him near the billiard table. He began to walk towards me, I aimed and shot him”.

He also said that he was on his way to the police station when he saw two other people shouting at him, took aim and fired at them. He then reloaded the shotgun and went home.

The court of appeal confirmed the punishment handed down in the 1997 jury and said that in cases such as this, the guilty party must answer for his actions by abiding to a fitting punishment – in this case, life imprisonment.

The judges also quoted another appeal ruling which stated: “Punishments must serve as a deterrent and the courts must give a clear message that physical violence is answerable by imprisonment and that if such violence is against minors, senior citizens or vulnerable members of society, then the punishment should be even more severe than in other cases”.

The judges concluded by saying that after examining the case closely, they could see no reason for altering the sentence handed down by the presiding judge after the jury’s verdict in 1997, and therefore confirmed the sentence in its entirety.

As a result, the court threw out Albert Ellul’s appeal and confirmed his lifetime imprisonment.