Brothers in Birkirkara murder claimed victim had fallen down the stairs

A deep wound in the upper thigh, puncturing a vital artery was the probable cause of death of a Libyan man allegedly stabbed by two compatriots inside their Birkirkara home on the night of November 25, a court heard on Thursday. The compilation of evidence before Magistrate Doreen Clarke against Siraj S.B. Shalgum, 36, and Husain Saleh Belgasem Shalgum, 31, two brothers facing murder charges over the death of 40-year old Fouzi Fari Etwaish following an argument inside their home in Bwieraq Street, started onThursday. Taking the witness stand, Inspector James Grech explained how on that fateful November night, close to 3.20am, police at the Birkirkara station had received a request to assist a person who, they were told, had tumbled down the stairs inside a residence close by. In the meantime, a male caller with an Arab accent had phoned the hospital’s emergency department for an ambulance. The nurse took the call later told the police that although she could not clearly understand the caller, knife wounds had been mentioned. When police arrived on the scene, they saw splashes of blood at the entrance to the house, on the stairway and in the kitchen on the first floor. A...