Police constable Kevin Fenech, 24, was acquitted yesterday morning of the involuntary homicide of his uncle, Angelo Seychell in a field near Zejtun in September 2006.
Seychell, 50, was shot dead in a hunting accident near his home on 24 September, 2006.
He fell victim to a shot fired by his nephew while hunting from an adjoining field. The accident happened at Triq Hajt il-Wied at around 7:15am. It had been the second recent accident of its nature. On September 14, a 16-year-old was accidentally shot and wounded in the leg by his friend in Mistra.
Fenech had also collaborated with the police and admitted that he had been on the scene when the incident happened and that the shot had been fired from his shotgun.
The Court heard that the killing was an accident which occurred when the aerial of a radio sticking out from Fenech’s pocket got caught up in the trigger of the hunting shotgun and a shot was fired.
The prosecution had argued that the gun’s safety catch should have been on, but Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera observed that the two had been hunting in a field and hat it was understanble that the safety catch could not be put on after every shot.