The verdict in respect of a 25-year-old Gozitan man accused of killing his aunt three years ago is expected today after the presiding judge finishes summing up the case for the jurors before they retire to consider their verdict.

Ivan Cauchi, 25, from Xewkija, is accused of killing his aunt, Elizabeth Cauchi, 58, from Xewkija, on 25 February 2004.

During yesterday’s sitting, defence lawyer Joseph Mifsud said that, while he accepted that his client’s version of events might seem contradictory, his version in court, under oath, corroborated the prosecution’s evidence.

Dr Mifsud said it was not plausible that the accused alone had killed his aunt, because her strength and resistance and stature would make it impossible. He said the prosecution had made a lot of allegations about his client but had not managed to prove that it was he who had killed Ms Cauchi that night.

The lawyer referred to the fact that his client did not want to name the two people who he said were with him. However, he said, his client had been warned of the consequences this could have on him when the jurors come to decide on the case.

Dr Mifsud said his client’s version corroborated the testimony of Bernardette Grima’s, Ms Cauchi’s next door neighbour, who testified that she saw two men running down the road. “Is it plausible that he killed his aunt? The evidence presented in court shows that it could not have been him. DNA tests and finger and palm prints did not implicate the accused,” he said.

“Ivan was one of the thieves, and the prosecution has managed to prove this. But it has not managed to prove that he killed her while he was stealing or that the victim is an elderly woman according to law: over the age of 60. Evidence points towards what the accused said in court – that he was with two other people during a robbery and that these other two killed the woman. Do we have proof beyond reasonable doubt that he laid a hand on his aunt?

“We heard about an agreement to rob Ms Cauchi but not of an agreement to kill her or even hurt her. I invite you to find my client guilty of theft but not guilty of murder,” he said.

Addressing the jurors, Senior Counsel to the Republic Anthony Barbara said that the robbery had been Mr Cauchi’s idea. He said that Mr Cauchi had an interest in killing her because he wanted her money and also because he did not want to leave anyone who could identify him to the police. Dr Barbara said this was a case of someone who wanted to hide the truth. However, he said, the accused had spontaneously told his father that he had killed his aunt. “That is the truth,” said Dr Barbara.

Replying to Dr Barbara’s arguments, Dr Mifsud repeated that what the prosecution is alleging is simply the fruit of a vivid imagination, because none of what was being said had actually been proven in court. He said that a person guilty of one thing (theft) should not get the blame for the whole event (murder).

The trial continues today, when Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono is expected to conclude his summing up of the trial before jurors start considering their verdict.

Assistant Attorney General Anthony Barbara is prosecuting. Dr Joseph Mifsud is defence counsel.