Police in the island nation of Malta have opened an investigation into the brutal double murder of a gay couple. Unknown assailants raided the home of Ivor Maciejowski and Christian Pandolfino, shooting both men to death.
The attack happened in the late hours of August 18. Neighbors alerted police to the home of Maciejowski & Pandolfino after hearing what sounded like gunshots. Inside, officers found the bodies of both men, shot multiple times by unknown attackers. Review of CCTV footage revealed three gunmen storming the property at 10:19 that night, and exiting about four minutes later.
Law enforcement officials have yet to speculate on a motive for the murder, or if it should be classified as a hate crime. PinkNews reports that at least one queer rights group has speculated that the shooting could have been a robbery gone wrong; Maciejowski worked as a noted art dealer in the area.
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“Tragic is an understatement,” Malta Pride said in a statement on Facebook. “Although details of the case are still emerging, it seems that this was a botched hold-up and not necessarily related to being a homophobic hate crime. It would be sensible to wait and see at this point without making any rash conclusions.”
In the meantime, friends of the couple have gone into mourning, publicly expressing their grief.
“Two of my friends have been murdered. Rest in peace Chris and Ivor,” said “Condolences to the Family.”
“They were just really, really great people. Selfless and funny and just friendly and fantastic and fabulous in every way,” friend Jordan Munn told The Malta Times.
Though friends and activists speculate that robbery could have been a motive for the crime, law enforcement has not yet announced if any valuables were taken from the home of Maciejowski & Pandolfino. Police also have yet to name any suspects in the crime.
sfhairy
Gurls, remember, you have to pay for your drugs or this happens
Chrisk
Hopefully you’re next ya POS.
succubus
To Miss CrissyK: go to your corner and slit your wrists…..you syphilitic scum infected “thing”.
remember PWWO???!!!
Hdtex
Succubus is the syphilitic whore infecting ALL the meth-addled pass-around party bottoms.
barryaksarben
troll. IF they were only there for 4 minutes Id say it was a homophobic assassination
bsg1967
While this is a toxic comment I can’t help feeling your not far off the mark.
CityguyUSA
That’s a very inconsiderate comment.
Jollijerk92
Probably pissed someone off in that corrupt govt of theirs
Catholicslutbox
I think it was a Grindr trick
succubus
ever been to Malta? dont mess with the locals. dont care how much steroids you have on board
Hdtex
……says the syphilitic, meth-addled, pass-around party bottom.
Cambriaguy
Watched a documentary on Malta just a week ago. The Government is corrupt and people who criticize the Government are murdered. None of these Murders seem to ever get solved. Malta sells citizenship to rich buyers who want a new identity no real questions asked .Malta is a member of the European Union. So rich organized crime members are buying Malta Citizenship and paying Millions. Not a safe Country to visit any longer.
Cambriaguy
Update: A suspect in the double murders of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski fled Malta and is now overseas, police believe. Police said on Friday that they were in the process of applying for a European Arrest Warrant to apprehend the suspect.
The man is believed to have left Malta after the double murders on August 18,2020 on a flight to a country within the EU’s Schengen Area.
This was reported in a Malta newspaper on September 1, 2020. So maybe there is some hope of an arrest and prosecution.
Cambriaguy
Two men have been apprehended so far -Daniel Muka and Viktor Dragomanski -with both pleading not guilty to murder and theft charges. The police are understood to have identified the alleged culprits using CCTV and contacts within the Eastern European community in Malta.
Sources close to the investigation say it is Muka, who is already facing charges linked to a 2017 armed robbery on a store, who is believed to have pulled the trigger on the Sliema couple. Muka was arrested in a major raid on a Floriana hide-out the day before he was charged.
He has insisted that he was not the mastermind behind the crime. His lawyers have sought a psychiatric assessment of their client, saying he has undergone severe trauma.
Police sources said they are also looking into the getaway car, a VW Tiguan. An investigation has been launched into a stolen vehicle report filed by the original owner of the car, as investigators believe this may have been fraudulent and possibly linked to a narcotics racket.
so two men have been arrested and they are trying to apprehend a third man who fled Malta.