A 48-year-old woman who killed two dogs, assaulted her partner and left a child so hungry he ate dog food has been jailed for 30 months.
Lourdes Schembri from Għargħur smashed a dog against a wall, breaking its teeth, and threw another off the roof, a child testified in proceedings against her.
She faced charges related to incidents dating back to a two-year period between January 2015 and January 2017. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Her ex-partner’s son, who was 10 years old at the time, told the court that Schembri lived with him and his mum, and they had several dogs. He told the court that the accused tried to kill one of the dogs, Peppinu, by giving him a lot of water. He also said that she smashed another dog, Tyson, against the wall and broke its teeth. The dog passed away the next morning. The boy also recalled seeing the woman throw down another dog, named Axel, from the roof several times.
He explained that someone had reported Schembri to Animal Welfare and the officers once turned up at their house.
The boy’s mother testified that the roof’s wall featured bloodstains from when Schembri had smashed Tyson’s head against the wall. She also recalled seeing the dog with a fractured jaw and said that it passed away the following morning.
A vet told the court that Axel had neurological issues. Roxy also had neurological issues and came to him in pain. The dog was also diagnosed with scleral ecchymosis or blood in the eye. The vet explained that the blood was in several superficial layers of the eye and this was caused by trauma but could not determine what caused it.
Prosecuting inspector Paula Ciantar told the court that the minor told her they had three pet dogs and Schembri killed them.
Accused insisted she loved dogs
When Schembri was interrogated, she blamed the dogs for dirtying the house and denied mistreating them, saying she loved them and would feed them.
She said Roxy had fallen down the stairs and ended up blind while she carried her. Another one of the dogs suffered from fits while another had died of old age.
The court, when analysing the evidence, was convinced that the child was saying the truth, noting that he was consistent in his testimonies and his version of events was corroborated.
It compared Schembri’s statements about Roxy to those of the vet, and said it did not believe the incident was accidental but that she purposely threw the dog down the stairs.
Violence towards partner and child
Schembri had also been violent towards her then-partner and the child, the court found.
On one occasion, the child had seen Schembri approach his mother while holding a knife. It also transpired that when Schembri picked the boy up from school, she did not give him food and would tell him to wait until the evening. The boy instead ate dog food.
He testified that if he ate any sweets, Schembri would beat him with a broomstick, hit him or bang his head against the wall. When asked if he told his mother, the boy said he would tell her that the bruises and scratches were the result of falling down the stairs.
It also emerged that the mother and son forgave the woman in separate proceedings.
‘God willing you will get cancer’
The boy’s mother told the court she also suffered at the hands of the accused citing an episode where Schembri dragged her by the hair on the floor. She also testified that Schembri hit and insulted her son including telling him that he is ugly and smelly.
Schembri once threatened to put the child “in a wheelchair” and also told him “God willing you will get cancer again”.
The accused told police that she only joked with the boy, calling him smelly to encourage him to take a shower. The child used to sneak sweets and ice-cream behind her back, she said.
When Schembri and her partner split up, Schembri began to harass her and her son. She drove by her workplace and called her at work, the court heard, with the woman receiving incessant calls from her even as she provided a statement to the police.
Schembri said she called her ex to go and pick up her stuff from the house.
The court believed the testimonies of the mother and son.
In its considerations on punishment, the court took note that the woman had a drug addiction problem at the time and that years have passed since the crimes.
However, Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi noted that the child had been left traumatised and found the accused’s comments and treatment of him shocking.
“A home is the place where family in its different forms, come together, a place for children to find love and protection that they deserve. For the minor, the house was a terrifying place,” the court said.
The court sentenced Schembri to 30 months in prison and fined her €15,000. It also issued a three-year restraining order in favour of the former partner and her son.
Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi presided.
Police inspector Paula Ciantar prosecuted.
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