A man was on Thursday charged with the attempted murder of his son and daughter.

The accused, who cannot be named due to a court order, faced a number of charges including attempting to murder his son and daughter or at least placing their life in clear danger by carrying out acts intended to lead to the execution of the crime.

In separate charges, the man is accused of causing grievous bodily harm to his son and his daughter, without intent to kill, resulting in serious injuries. Prosecutors alleged the offence was aggravated because it was committed against his own child, a minor and vulnerable person, and allegedly involved the use of an irregular weapon.

The accused was also charged with illegally arresting, detaining or sequestering both children against their will, without lawful authority. Prosecutors alleged the offences were aggravated because the victims were threatened with death and were his direct descendants.

How the case unfolded

The case stems from events on the night of 7 March, when police at the St Julian's station were alerted at around 10:15pm after a woman arrived with a 10-year-old girl she had found on the Coast Road asking for help.

The woman told officers she had encountered the child on the road. The girl alleged that her father had tried to choke and kill her, and that he had killed her brother. She then managed to escape and seek assistance.

Police accompanied the girl to White Rocks, where a search began for the boy. He was eventually found inside one of the abandoned rooms, with severe head injuries and a large amount of blood around him, unconscious, the court heard.

Investigations revealed the accused had earlier called the children's mother and his former partner, and told her to take the girl with her, while referring to his son as being "in heaven", the court heard.

The man had also contacted his flatmate, with whom he had been living following a separation from his wife, and a missing persons' report was filed. During that conversation, he allegedly remarked that the money he had should be used for his funeral, the court heard.

Shortly after the alleged attack on his son, he reportedly telephoned several people saying he intended to kill himself. During the calls, the sound of waves could be heard in the background.

Authorities later managed to localise his mobile phone last Sunday at around noon near caravans close to the rocks in the Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq area, indicating that he was still in the vicinity. A warrant for his arrest was subsequently issued.

A three-day search

A three-day search for the accused followed, with operations carried out across the country.

Police eventually spotted the accused near Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq on Tuesday at around 6:40pm and arrested him on the spot.

He was found with several injuries and was limping. He was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, where doctors determined that the injuries were compatible with a fall. He was kept under observation and later discharged on Wednesday.

Investigators recovered a notebook among the man's personal belongings. In it, he had written an account of what had happened on the Saturday, expressing deep remorse over what he had done to his son, the court heard.

The accused appeared emotional in court and cried during the proceedings.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Gianella de Marco asked the investigating inspector whether the injuries sustained by the accused were consistent with attempts to take his own life, including trying to hang himself and jumping into the sea. According to the inspector, the man had slammed against rocks before ending up in the sea.

The defence also referred to tensions between the accused and his wife, from whom he had separated.

Notes in the recovered notebook suggested the accused believed he was in the final moments of his life and thought his son was already dead, which was cited as a reason why he attempted to commit suicide.

The defence did not contest the arrest.

A protection order was issued in favour of all the victims by the Court of Magistrates, but the accused had another protection order against him, issued by the Family Court last Monday.

Duty Magistrate Elaine Rizzo ordered that the names of all individuals involved in the case are not to be mentioned in the media. The defence requested for previous articles mentioning the accused to be removed the court, but this was not met.  

The accused entered a plea of not guilty.

A request by the parte civile for the case to be heard behind closed doors was rejected by the court.

The case is ongoing.

The prosecution is being led by lawyers Etienne Savona, Anthony Vella and Kaylie Bonnett from the Office of the Attorney General, together with Inspectors Kurt Colombo Zahra and Christian Xuereb.

Lawyers Conrad Borg Manche, Gianella de Marco and Charles Mercieca are representing the accused.