Marthese Camilleri Speaks Out On Brother Twannie Aquilina's Murder Case, 60 Years Later

Marthese Camilleri, sister of murder victim Twannie Aquilina, gave a rare interview on Campus 103.7 with Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, in which she shared that her brother’s case continues to cast a stigma over her family.

On August 23rd, 1960, eight-year-old Twannie Aquilina was gruesomely murdered in his home in Valletta.

The boy was found with his throat slit, and his mother Ġiġan and stepfather Leli were later convicted of the crime.

Their conviction followed a 17-day trial, which Marthese strongly criticised.

During the interview, she highlighted what she described as a lack of forensic evidence linking her mother to the murder.

She also claimed that her sister’s testimony, given when she was only seven years old, was “coerced.”

Despite these concerns, Ġiġa was initially sentenced to death by hanging. However, after a petition signed 80 lawyers was submitted, her sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.

After serving 10 years from her sentence, Ġiġa was released and maintained her innocence until her death.

“There was no evidence against my parents,” said Marthese during the interview, “No fingerprints, no broken nails, there was nothing.”

Marthese also stated that she believes her mother could not have committed the crime, noting that Twannie had been sexually abused prior to his murder.

“They just wanted to blame someone and they blamed them,” insisted Marthese.

#MaltaDaily