Police searching the bedroom of murder victim Margaret Mifsud found details penned by her on a foolscap recounting what happened on 24 March 2012 when Nizar El-Gadi tried to strangle her and she reported him to the Birkirkara police, lead investigator Inspector Keith Arnaud told a trial by jury today.

Dr Mifsud, a lawyer, was found dead in her car at Bahar ic-Caghaq on the night between 18 and 19 April, 2012 in suspicious circumstances.

Libyan-born El-Gadi, 36, stands charged with murdering his former wife and the mother of his two children. 

Continuing where he left off yesterday, Inspector Arnaud explained to jurors that the written document included excerpts which showed that El-Gadi told his wife that he could perform the perfect murder. Dr Mifsud also stated in the document that the 24 March incident was one of a series of threats made by El-Gadi towards her. She also questioned why he always wanted to see her suffer.

A laptop and digital camera were also lifted by police from Dr Mifsud's bedroom. Cybercrime police who examined the data on the laptop found images of her with her two children walking in Sliema. It resulted that the images were taken by means of an iPhone 4 on 16 April by someone who was following her, the inspector said. The images were taken three days before the murder. It is not known how the images ended up on her laptop computer. It is understood El-Gadi owned two cell phones - an iPhone 4 and Blackberry.

Mobile tracking device showed El-Gadi did not say the truth on his whereabouts

Nizar El-Gadi told investigators he was in Bugibba but his mobile phone tracking system showed that he went to Xemxija, something he failed to tell investigators, Inspector Arnaud said.

Inspector Arnaud said that police studied camera footage to determine whether El Gadi had used the exact route he told police he used to get to Bugibba but camera footage showed he made a diversion. The mobile tracking device showed he ended up in Xemxija eventually.

The officer testified that El-Gadi argued that he wanted to buy petrol from Bugibba but a car was driving too close to his car and he ended up in Xemxija since he could not make a sudden right-turn to a petrol station in Bugibba.

“El-Gadi told police he met a Russian woman near Pender Gardens after he parked his car near Cavalieri Hotel. He tried to convince her to go to Paceville with him but she was reluctant since she said that people pass a lot of sexual remarks in Paceville. Instead, he convinced her to go to Bugibba. So he went for his car and said he drove up to Bugibba.

“El-Gadi said that while in Bugibba, he told the girl that he wanted to take a CV to a restaurant,” Inspector Arnaud said.

“El-Gadi told police who called him on his phone that he had seen Margaret last at 8pm on 18 April. He said he had requested his former wife to take the CVs which were filed on her laptop to the hotel he was staying in but then changed tack and told investigators later that he had gone to her mother’s residence himself to collect the CVs,” Inspector Arnaud testified.

Letter to his children after the murder

Inspector Arnaud said that in a letter to his children after the murder, El-Gadi wrote: “Whoever told you I murdered your mother is a liar and those who tell you this are doing so because they want to see us apart. Don’t believe a word they say.

“You remember when you saw me and your mum kiss each other at Pizza Hut?

“If I commit suicide it is because I love your mother very much,” El-Gadi continued.

Failed suicide attempt

Inspector Arnaud said that at the depot’s lock-up, a strap was found on the floor by police which could have been used by El-Gadi in an attempt to commit suicide while he was locked up. Part of the bed sheet was torn and part of the strap was found tied to the bars of the prison cell window.

El-Gadi was taken to Mt Carmel but an arrest warrant was issued so that police could take him in for questioning the minute he is released from Mt Carmel.

Six days after the murder and his release form Mt Carmel Hospital, he was arrested, Inspector Arnaud said.

Lawyer Martin Testaferrata Moroni Viani is defending the accused. Judge Antonio Mizzi is presiding over the case.

Drs Kathleen Grima and Arthur Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the family of the victim.