A man facing criminal proceedings for the alleged murder of an elderly couple, whose trial by jury has twice been dissolved, filed an application in the Constitutional Court yesterday claiming he has been prejudiced by these occurrences.

Brian Vella, 35, of Hamrun, has stood trial for the murder of Gerald Grima, 79, known as Gigi, and 64-year-old Josephine Grima, known as Guza, who were found bound and gagged in their Santa Lucia home on 17 February 2000. The murders were said to have taken place on 10 February.

In his application, Mr Vella claimed that, since his trial by jury had been started twice ,and since it has been given extensive coverage in the media, impartiality has already been prejudiced and he is not guaranteed a fair hearing.

Mr Vella’s last trial by jury was dissolved in January this year when, during his testimony, Police Commissioner John Rizzo passed comments that suggested the accused could have been previously convicted.

In his application, Mr Vella claimed that the court cannot be impartial since it has presided over two trials that were dissolved and also the trial of another man accused of complicity in the murder of the elderly couple. He claimed that his right to a fair hearing was not being respected in view of the European Convention on Human Rights and called on the Constitutional Court to order remedies it deems fit.

The writ was signed by Dr Anglu Farrugia and Dr Kris Busietta.