Her boyfriend was killed three months ago. She still has no answers
The fiancee of a Venezuelan cook who was killed three months ago when he was killed in Marsa remains in the dark about what caused the accident and spoke about the lack of a system to keep the loved ones of the victims updated.
“I want to know the truth. I don’t understand because he always followed the rules. I want to know the facts: was it his fault or the driver’s fault?” asked 22-year-old Maria Giraud.
I think they (the driver’s family) are good people but they are afraid. I don’t think they are bad people but I want them to talk to me. But I think they have to follow the procedure.”
Her boyfriend, Jesús David Reina Quero, was killed as he crossed Triq Decembr 13, in Marsa on 24 October. He was hit by a Mercedes Benz C250, driven by a 66-year-old man from Fgura. He died later at Mater Dei Hospital.
Maria feels that she owes Jesús to get answers. “I feel strong. I feel like I have to go on,” she says.
Maria and Jesús met five years ago at a friend’s house in Venezuela and officially started dating three years ago. He came to Malta to work around that time and she joined him about a year ago. The couple lived together in Msida and were working to save money with the dream of, one day, opening their own food or restaurant.
“He loved to cook. He was a foodie. He especially was great at baking, particularly Venezuelan food. He loved Malta. We loved Valletta. He proposed to me while we were in Valletta at Christmas time.
“He was a really good person. The incident happened because he was doing someone a favor on his day off,” she recalled.
On the day of the incident, Jesús had gone to get knives for sharpening in Birżebbuġa by bus but he never picked them up.
Near the time of the incident, Maria had noticed that Jesús was missing.
She spoke to him via WhatsApp at 1.29pm, just over 40 minutes before the incident.
“Later, I tried to reach him and I spoke to some of his friends that he had to meet with.
“He never showed up,” she recalled.
She described her heartache on he realized he was the victim of the incident after he recognized his shoes in a picture compiled on a news report.
His body was cremated and taken to Venezuela where the family had a funeral service.
A system that keeps sufferers in limbo
Three months later Maria has no answers. She asked the police for more information but was informed that they cannot reveal much because of the magisterial inquiry. Her only way to get answers is to make a request to the magistrate for which she needs a lawyer. This comes at a cost with one lawyer quoting her thousands of euros to take her case.
Lawyer Veronique Dalli said that Maria’s situation reflects that of many others.
“Once there is a magisterial inquiry, the police cannot overtake the inquiring magistrate. Any request for information must be directed to the investigating magistrate, through an application signed by a lawyer… This is a scenario that potentially leaves the sufferer in limbo, not to mention the difficulty, especially when it comes to foreigners, ” she said. he said.
Julianne Grima, from Victim Support Malta, said that the victims of crime or their relatives were often allowed to leak information.
“Victims should be kept up to date on how a case is proceeding but locally this seems to be done through a lawyer that the family appoints to the case to follow on their behalf,” she said, adding: “Previously, the unit of victim support, the branch of law enforcement assigned to provide information to victims of crime, has been very efficient in this support to victims but since its absorption in the support agency for victims of the government now, this service is less advertised and it is not clear whether it is still active in its original capacity.”
Mother of Marsa victim: ‘We lost a great man’
“Jesus David, since I was a child you were a very special person, you were born with a spirit and a way of being that was very special for everyone, you had an aura, an unquenchable light that touched the lives of everyone you met.
“Since I was born I was convinced of the presence of God in our lives. You overcame many difficulties to later become a young man full of values, love, loyalty, respect, honesty, joy, kindness, nobility, responsibility, commitment and love for family and friends.
“You lived intensely, always focusing on fulfilling all your dreams, doing everything you liked and what made you happy. At your young age you managed to fulfill many of your dreams. You dedicated your life to cooking, especially baking, you were a total lover and enjoyed every one of your travels around the world.
“Jesus we know that with your zeal and perseverance you would have reached each of your goals. We are sure that we have lost a great man who brought only wonderful experiences to all the people who were lucky enough to cross his path.”
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