According to Erin Tanti, Lisa Marie Zahra was intent on ending her life by jumping off a cliff in Dingli. After taking a cocktail of 40-odd aspirin and a quarter bottle of whisky, she told him that she wanted to end their lives there and then. With passport in pocket and the intent to leave the country, Erin Tanti joined her in looking for a spot to jump off. He told police that she looked at him when he expressed his reservations, called him a ‘pussy’, counted to three and jumped off the cliff edge.

He waited some five seconds, and decided to do the same. But things turned out very differently. The 23-year-old teacher landed on clay and suffered a few broken ribs, whereas she bounced off rocks and ended up in a tree. Police witnesses testified that she suffered a fractured skull and dislocated joints.

Today’s hearing was less intense than the one that took place on Thursday, however, it became more and more apparent that there was more than meets the eye – always, according to what Tanti told the police.

The major bone of contention yesterday was that one of the senior police investigators could not remember what Erin Tanti said in the one question he answered by police. Tanti refused to answer police questions time and time again, according to inspector Josric Mifsud. But eventually, he spoke and said: “I loved her, and I was going to end the relationship”- this, only minutes before he was charged.

The defence cross examined the witness and asked him what it believes was the most important piece of evidence yet.

“Did he tell you that he loved her and did not kill her?”, asked lawyer Michael Sciriha. Inspector Mifsud fudged around a bit, but eventually said he remember that Tanti had said as much.

“How can you, as an experienced investigator forget this crucial detail." He said nothing, but at the end blurted it out. "Did this just slide under your radar?”

Inspector Mifsud answered: “Yes it did.” The usual legal posturing of “You are under oath... blah... blah... ensued, but it was established that Tanti had said that, one of the few statements that he made during his interrogation.”

But on the flipside, there was more. Tanti had denied that he had ever had sexual relations with Lisa Marie Zahra, but DNA tests had established that his semen was found in her bed linen, at the family home.

The minute by minute report can be found below:

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-04-11/news/live-compilation-of-evidence-in-erin-tanti-case-continues-4592959491/