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Kurt Sansone
The murder of Gozitan lawyer Michael Grech remains shrouded in mystery with investigators following a number of leads in a bid to try and establish the motive behind the brutal killing, which occurred on 25 May in Marsalforn.
MaltaToday has learned that one of the leads being followed by the police is Grech’s connection with the construction industry and the possibility that the murder may have been linked to a contract of some sorts.
Grech was a major shareholder in a road construction company by the name of Road Building Contractors Ltd. The minority shareholder involved with Grech is another Gozitan construction company that has been awarded the majority of road contracts in Gozo.
The latter company and another construction firm owned by the same owners was involved in 28 out of the 36 tenders for various road construction works carried out in Gozo between 1999 and 2002.
Police investigators have been questioning a number of people who either knew Grech professionally or were involved with him in court proceedings. Earlier this month police questioned a prominent entrepreneur in the entertainment business after it transpired that Grech had recently requested a court injunction against an entertainment establishment run by the businessman in Gozo. Grech was representing the interests of a client.
It would appear that progress in the investigation has been limited. There was little evidence left on the scene of the crime and Gozitans are notorious for keeping their silence even if the police are convinced there may be people that either heard or saw something on the night of the murder.
In what resembled a mafia killing, the 46-year old lawyer was shot and then clubbed to death in an open garage underlying a block of flats he owned in Marsalforn. He was attacked as he returned to his flat, situated in the third floor in St Mary’s Street, at about 10pm.
It is believed that the hooded killer was probably waiting for Grech on the stairs leading to the fourth floor and as the lawyer lowered his briefcase to fetch the keys to the flat, the killer shot him in the neck.
A heavily wounded Grech then ran down the stairs with the assailant following hot on his heels. A relative of Grech, who opened the apartment door upon hearing the shot is said to have seen a hooded man run down the stairs.
Once outside, Grech headed for the corner of the street but at that point evidence suggests that he either fainted or else the assailant caught up with him. Police believe the victim must have been unconscious or heavily overpowered because he does not appear to have offered any more resistance as he was dragged, face down, into a garage still under construction.
What followed was a brutal end to a bloody story as the victim was clubbed to death by his attacker. Whoever wanted Grech dead, made sure that the job was a thorough one. Police believe that there may have been at least two men involved, because it would not have been possible for just one person to drag a human body for such a distance, around 50 feet, in such a short period of time.
Grech’s murder is the first of its kind involving a lawyer. It not only shocked the legal profession, but the whole of Malta because of the brutal way in which the lawyer was killed. Despite the shock, silence prevails and the idyllic Gozitan way of life once again displays a sinister trait, that of omertà.
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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