Erin Tanti, his partner Marisa Gallo and St James Hospital owner Josie Muscat were on Monday charged with carrying out illegal artificial insemination.

All three pleaded not guilty.

Gallo and Muscat were charged with using, transferring or fertilising human germline cells without authorisation in November 2024, while Tanti is in prison.

Tanti was charged with the same offence but prosecutors said he carried it out while serving a prison sentence.

Muscat was also charged with providing or assisting in a medically assisted reproduction procedure for someone who was not a prospective parent, using an unlicensed premises for assisted reproduction, and failing to keep and submit a confidential register of procedures to the authorities.

Muscat, who founded and chairs Saint James Hospital, is believed to have carried out the insemination at his clinic, according to reports. The procedure reportedly allowed Tanti and his partner to conceive a child.

Tanti is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for the 2014 murder of teenager Lisa Maria Zahra. 

In 2019, Tanti, who was a teacher, admitted to the wilful homicide of Lisa Maria Zahra, daughter of hotelier Tony Zahra. The 15-year-old died in what was believed to have been a suicide pact when she fell from Dingli cliffs in March 2014.

In May, both he and his partner were arrested amid suspicions that their artificial insemination procedure may have breached Malta's embryo protection laws. Tanti's partner is expected to give birth within the coming weeks.

Investigations suggest that a prison medical official was involved in smuggling Tanti's semen out of jail to be delivered to the clinic. That prison doctor has since been suspended.