Alfred Azzopardi will be spending the rest of his life behind bars after a jury found him guilty yesterday of the murder of a young woman and her baby.

Azzopardi, 47 of Zejtun, stood trial for the murder of 22-year-old Vanessa Grech and her 17-month-old daughter Ailey. The victims were both stabbed to death on 12 November 2001 and their bodies found hidden in a well in the yard of a Birzebbuga flat two days later.

After two-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all four charges. Azzopardi was declared guilty of both murders by eight votes to one, and was unanimously convicted for the possession of a knife during the killings and hiding Ms Grech’s body and that of her baby daughter.

At midday last Monday, church bells set the tone as gruesome photographs of the crime scene were displayed. Yesterday, the same bells tolled just as the verdict was declared admissible.

No relatives of the accused or of the victims were in court to hear the verdict.

Looking older than his 47 years, Azzopardi stood with his hands resting on the dock as he listened to the verdict. During the submissions on punishment, Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono heard defence attorney Dr Malcolm Mifsud explain that his client’s behaviour in prison over the last four years had been exemplary. He also asked the court to note that this was Azzopardi’s first offence.

These facts were not contested by prosecuting officer Dr Mark Said, who nevertheless called on the judge to incarcerate Azzopardi for life, claiming that the two murders were hideous and macabre.

Mr Justice Galea Debono emerged from his chambers to hand down his judgement some 15 minutes later.

After taking all the submissions into consideration he proceeded to sentence Azzopardi to life in prison and order him to pay all the court expenses.