It is “another failure of Byron Camilleri” that after the murder of Bernice Cassar, “he was not capable of seeing to it that the Police were given enough resources to take reports like those made by Nicolette seriously before it is too late”, Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech said in a statement on Monday.
He said this in reaction to the murder of a woman who has been identified as Nicolette Ghirxi, who was killed in her Swatar (Birkirkara) apartment by alleged aggressor Edward Johnston, an Irish national who had reportedly been in a relationship with Ghirxi.
Bernice Cassar was killed nearly two years ago in Paola, with the murder being the first case in the country where the aggressor would eventually be charged with femicide.
Grech said that “the system killed another woman”, adding that “it cannot be that we keep failing woman after woman, family after family”.
“Despite an independent inquiry having been done after the murder of Bernice Cassar nee Cilia, which found that the authorities were responsible for her death, as there were not enough resources to give attention to reports of domestic violence, today the system has failed anew and killed Nicolette Ghirxi after the Commissioner of Police admitted that the reports she made days ago were still being processed because they were considered as ‘low risk’,” Grech commented.
He added that “every woman, every person,” deserves reassurance that their reports would be taken seriously and that concrete action would be taken so that they are safe.
Grech thanked the members of the Police Force who do their work “at their risk also because of the lack of resources to try to prevent cases like this and confront the aggressors”.
The Opposition Leader concluded by saying that there is a need for a government “which really gives all the necessary resources to the Police and every other competent authority” so that they can take every needed action so that such cases are addressed “before there is another femicide”.
In his own statement about the murder, Home Affairs Minister Camilleri said that he feels great sadness for the death of Ghirxi, and offered his condolences to her relatives and those who knew her.
Camilleri continued that the work of the Police is “never easy” and that “a difficult night like the one that happened is certainly not what anyone would like”.
“First, the murder in Birkirkara, then the search for the aggressor, in uneasy circumstances and they were forced to shoot and the alleged aggressor was killed,” the Minister said. He continued that the details of the case have already been explained in detail, and he thanked the Police for their work. “We will ensure that they also have every assistance,” Camilleri concluded.
President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola reacted to the news in a Facebook post, saying that Ghirxi “should be alive today.”
“Instead, Malta must bury another daughter,” Metsola said. She said that another woman has been murdered, with her former partner being the prime suspect. “Our grief must turn into action. Our anger must fuel change. The epidemic of violence against women cannot go on. Not one more. Be their voice,” Metsola said.