Prison suicide victim was hospitalised for self-harm days previously, court told
Prison suicide victim Kim Borg Nicolas Virtu was hospitalised owing to self-harm just days before her fatal attempt, a court heard on Tuesday.
Details leading up to the woman’s death last year, emerged at the compilation of evidence against two former warders criminally charged over the suicide.
Annabelle Cauchi, 51 from Zebbug and Alison Vassallo, 41, from Fgura, are pleading not guilty to involuntary homicide and also with allegedly committing a crime which they were duty bound to prevent.
Prosecuting inspector Paul Camilleri said during cross-examination by defence lawyers Herman Mula and Mario Mifsud that on June 16, he arrived at Corradino before the ambulance team got there, finding prison staff administering CPR in an attempt to resuscitate the victim.
He said that days earlier, the inmate had been admitted to Mater Dei Hospital where she tried to give her warders the slip. She was tracked down while still at the hospital and had told warders that she had simply ‘escaped’ in search of a cigarette.
The patient subsequently discharged herself from hospital against medical advice, insisting that she would rather go back to CCF.
The prosecutor said that he was not directly...