A man accused of strangling his former partner actually went to the local police station to report that she could not be roused from her sleep.
This information was revealed in court at the first hearing of the compilation of evidence against Michael Emmanuel, the 28-year old Ivorian national and the father to three of her seven children.
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On September 15, shortly after he filed the report, Maria Lourdes Agius, the 35-year old woman, was found strangled to death in her bedroom in the Paola apartment.
Police reaching the apartment first met the woman’s mother, who informed them that her daughter was still asleep. The mother thought her daughter was sleeping in because she had allegedly suffered a beating at the hands of her partner just a couple of days before.
Although at first sight, the victim appeared to be asleep, the police sergeant was aware of a domestic violence report and sensed that the woman might have been dead.
Inspector James Grech, taking the witness stand today, explained how at one point a commotion had broken out between the mother of the victim and the accused, with the police having to intervene to keep…