The man accused of the fatal shooting of Louis Ellul, outside a church in Pembroke on 2 December, had given a breakdown of his deeds soon after he was arrested, Police Inspector Chris Pullicino told a court yesterday morning in the prosecution of Martino Gatt, 59.
Testifying during the compilation of evidence against Gatt, from St Paul’s Bay, Inspector Pullicino said that Gatt had admitted to shooting Ellul.
His children, a boy and a girl, as well as their mother, Gatt's ex-wife, had been living with Ellul.
Gatt told the police in his statement that on the day of the shooting he was waiting in his car outside Pembroke Church. As soon as he saw Ellul and his wife and children come out of the church he got out of his car, hiding his gun under a cloth.
Ellul, described by acquaintances as an ‘exemplary Christian’, was shot at 11.30 am in front of a playground where children were playing. The 34-year-old, from St Paul’s Bay, was shot three times in the abdomen with a semi-automatic weapon. He died on the spot.
A 14-year-old girl who happened to be in the vicinity was hit by pellets and rushed to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment.
Gatt ordered the children accompanying Ellul not to get any closer before he produced the weapon and fired the fatal shots. He then went up to Ellul and shot him. He did not know how many times he shot, but after the first shot he told his wife this was all her fault.
He got back into his car and drove to Girgenti, where he prayed for his wife, his children and the victim. He then drove down to Siggiewi for a beer and was arrested there after an island-wide search.