Ah, so we’re supposed to believe he fell/jumped off that cliff, landed on that rock…and then spent just a couple of days in hospital
Published:
March 28, 2014 at 1:28am
These screen-shots are taken from TVM’s footage last week (link below). They show Erin Tanti lying on the rock below Dingli Cliffs where he was found by rescuers.
If he’d landed there from the edge of the cliff, he’d have been smashed to pieces. But he was found in one piece apart from a relatively minor fracture and spent less than a week in hospital.
He was kept in the Intensive Therapy Unit not because he needed intensive therapy but because the police wanted to keep him in seclusion. He was under police watch, not medical watch, 24/7.
That rock is fairly far from the cliff edge and, the police said, is some way off from where Lisa Maria was found.
91 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
http://www.tvm.com.mt/news/aggornat-4-salvat-guvni-izda-t-tfajla-ttellghet-mejta/
Benefit of the doubt, let’s assume he crawled there for visibility and to call out for help.
I don’t think anyone could be THAT stupid to pretend to have fallen there, and besides it would take quite some cojones to administer a fracture to oneself.
Why on earth is he wearing shorts, if I’m seeing correctly?
Dawk l-underpants. Elasticated imitation Calvin Klein. The man is in his knickers.
It pays people who idolise that horrible man to portray his victim as fully responsible for her actions.
I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but surely this definitely disproves the theory that “jumped after her in a desperate attempt to save her”. Did he think there was a pool of water down there?
That theory had already been debunked. The police ruled out accidents and foul play.
It does seem he is in his underpants. Were his trousers found? And if yes, where were they found?
In the car maybe or somewhere on the cliffs?
Another thing. The car was found locked. A person just about to commit suicide would not bother to lock his car.
And another thing – I don’t think that if you fall you end up in the position he is in. That looks like a pose to me.
Yes, a drama queen pose. He’s theatrical, after all.
Looks like a Fantozzi position to me
He almost looks as if he was comfortably asleep, with his elbow beneath his head.
Watching that TVM video proved to me that Erin Tanti has the powers of not Spiderman, but Superman.
While the poor doomed girl plunged the height of eight storeys, straight into the trees at the bottom of the cliff to her death, our Superman Erin Tanti just glided down from the top of that same cliff and landed on a conveniently large and soft boulder that was located a good distance away from the foot of the cliff, all with his super power.
He can’t possibly be mortal.
Sadly, there must be some Kryptonite buried close by there on those rocks, as he lost his Superman qualities at the time he needed them the most.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the news coverage changes in the way it refers to Erin Tanti, as the (possible) sexual factor of the case becomes known and culpability is established. Will they still be calling him “zghazugh” or “guvni” or will they switch to “ragel”?
That they’re both “zghazagh” (cf. news clip) and all that implies seems to be the dominant narrative so far.
And as the story evolves (from star-crossed lovers to the kind of predatory relationship described in this blog) that framework will be untenable.
You can really see the wheels turning as newspapers, TV stations and online commentators scramble to keep up with a story that refuses to be framed in any of the tropes a Maltese audience finds comfortable.
I don’t mean to downplay the horror of what actually happened but we’re hardly dealing in realities here, confronted by endless media permutations of tragedy and prurient possibility.
I can’t imagine things are going to get any more civilized. Peppi Azzopardi must be salivating at the thought of it all.
Perhaps he will dedicate a show to honour this “hero”.
I wouldn’t put it past him.
Why not?
Given his physique, he must have glided down and landed gently on that rock.
He bounced off, more likely.
Can’t do. Would have broken his spine.
This is starting to look like a drunken escapade gone wrong. Drinking alcohol with aspirin makes you drunk faster, and I cannot imagine a 15 year old girl being a hardened drinker.
That’s probably how the girl ended up at the bottom of the cliff. He probably got those minor fractures whilst climbing down the rocks after the event happened.
Alternatively he could have crawled to that rock after falling but I doubt he would have survived that fall with minor fractures.
Why do you assume it wasn’t deliberate? Painkillers and alcohol are a lethal mix, taken deliberately with a specific purpose in mind.
Lisa Maria Zahra ended up dead not because of a drunken escapade but because of a highly irresponsible and egocentric teacher who should never have been allowed anywhere near minors.
Nowhere did I say that the teacher isn’t responsible for all that happened. In no universe is it acceptable for a teacher to be swigging whisky with a minor student, or to be alone in a car or in remote places with her.
That professional boundary has most certainly been crossed. Aspirin isn’t a lethal mix with alcohol, it accelerates drunkenness.
It is quite apparent that what happened afterwards is what spiralled things out of control.
I do not think the outcome was deliberate, or I’d like to think that this person isn’t so twisted so as to assist his own pupil’s suicide or purposely cause her death. And if he jumped with her, he’d have sustained much more serious injuries if not death.
I’m inclined to think he climbed down to feign that he jumped too.
Everyone would like to think that no teacher is twisted. Unfortunately, some are. This man is, quite obviously, one of them.
You write about this as though these were a couple of teenagers playing hooky and feeling daring.
Disabuse yourself of the romantic nonsense that he climbed down to save her. A normal reaction is to call for professional assistance, not to put your own life at risk.
If he was too drunk to know what he was doing, then he’d have been too drunk to get that far down with only a minor fracture.
This guy was capable of flying a good thirty metres out before hitting the ground.
Not to mention giving Lisa Maria Zahra his full support by driving her to Dingli at four in the morning, letting her go, then doing the same.
And the question remains, why would HE commit suicide?
Then I’m told not to judge, to let it pass. It just doesn’t make sense.
Because if that’s the story, he’s still a real danger to society.
He already knew he was in trouble?
When they left school together had suicide already been mentioned?
Were others aware of this?
Was he planning to go the whole hog?
Did he need to save his skin?
Had he been asked to back off?
So he didn’t have his trousers on. I’ve yet to see someone with a broken hip take their trousers off.
Just pray the police sealed the area off. Car, ledge and all.
He’ll come up with the maniac prowling on them when the trousers won’t be found.
He took his time, he had all night. The man writes plots.
He’s not really fooling anyone, is he now?
The investigators should try and re enact the circumstances and see if the position found and injuries on both persons are compatible on what was in reality.
[Daphne – I’m quite sure the investigators don’t need any advice.]
Dejjem jekk nistgħu navdawhom li ma jaħbux jew jinjoraw jew ma jfittxux biżżejjed evidenzi.
Għallanqas jien illum spiċċatli l-fiduċja fil-pulizija. Nittama li dak li qed naħseb ma jsirx u li l-ħati jieħu dak li ħaqqu mhux nagħlquh f’xi ċella Mount Carmel għax tinqatgħalu li huwa żbilanċjat. Eh ..Vera jaf jirreċta.
My thoughts exactly. And, it seems, he also ‘landed’ in a theatrical drama queen pose. What a coincidence.
The more I watch this footage, the more I am convinced that the truth is far off from the impression that is being given.
Tanti seems to be lying down on the top of a rock outcrop resting his head on his elbow, seemingly to make sure that he is visible from above.
To have fallen so far from the cliff edge would make him a long-jump world champion. I trust the police make use of all forensic and other tools to establish the truth, as I won’t expect Tanti to be much help.
It is inconceivable that Tanti could leap directly from the cliff-face to the spot where he was found sustaining injuries totally incompatible with the trajectory.
It does appear that the perverted buffoon has climbed onto the final resting point to await his ‘rescue’
Something is badly amiss here, and I suspect it’s a cover up for this member of the new breed of people in Malta, the “TaghnaLkollites”.
[Daphne – Do you imagine for one moment that her father is going to allow that to happen? He won’t.]
I hope so Daphne. God only knows what his state of mind is after losing his daughter. I can only hope that with the support of his family they will leave no stone unturned to ensure that justice is served.
There is no way Erin Tanti could have slammed down from even a relatively low height onto that jagged rock surface without facial injuries and fractures in other parts of his body.
It looks increasingly like she pushed him away from her and to the ground, causing the slight fracture in his hip, and he then pushed her off the cliff edge.
Erin, drama queen that he evidently is, then ad libbed from there, attempting to conceal his involvement as perpetrator of the crime by casting himself in the role of heroic rescuer.
More likely, he had it all mapped out ahead as some sort of live script writing.
Definitely.
That’s why he chose Dingli.
He’s not that good; whiskey and pills in a locked car.
Like a roadmap? Yes, it’s possible. See the hole Jo got us in with his roadmap.
Why use two forms of suicide, first the pills and whiskey and then jumping off a cliff?
Is the cliff ‘jump’ a way to conceal the truth? Did he throw her lifeless body off and then try to cover this up?
The necrophile.
That’s for an autopsy to establish.
L-istess ħsieb għadda minn moħħi hekk kif sirt naf bl-aħbar. Imma għidt bejn u bejn ruħi “possibli jasal s’hawn?” Mela mhux jien biss qed naħseb hekk!
He obviously was never “in a critical condition” as all the major newspapers reported.
This guy defied the laws of gravity ….. and did our bungling police buy it?
Yes, it looks like they did. Perhaps they should issue a statement, as they did in the “crucified cats” case. The public has a right to know that children’s welfare, at the very least, is taken seriously by them.
He is not only a pervert, he is also deceitful. I said it before and I say it again: I have a gut feeling that this guy is going to walk free.
I have a feeling he won’t. This may sound callous, but there’s money in this case, if there’s nothing else. The best prosecutor that money can buy can overcome the stupidity of even the stupidest in the Maltese judiciary.
Did the police check whether the grass leading to that rock was disturbed – a clear indication that he walked there?
Check the height of the rock. Is it possible to drag yourself onto it with a fractured limb?
All very fishy from day one on seeing the TV shots.
Sunbathing in boxer shorts after a forty metre drop.
I will try the Shard to check this out.
Hopefully I will live to tell the tale.
FYI
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html
This is what happens when the prosperity of a country relies on cash injections from dictatorships (Saudi etc in the case of the UK). Please like with Malta/China.
A bad fall landed on those rocks would have resulted in a smashed head. He walked to the best surface he could find, to protect himself from the nearby rats.
Note the rock’s surface – it’s quite flat compared to the other, which have pricky points.
I watched this footage yesterday, and I had the same thoughts.
It would have been impossible for him to survive in that case.
Times of Malta had reported that he fell quite a few distance from where he was found and managed to crawl to that large boulder, with injuries and a broken hipbone. I found that slightly hard to believe.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140323/local/Police-hope-to-quiz-cliff-tragedy-teacher.511730
“Police believe Mr Tanti, whose injuries include a broken hip, managed to crawl a fair distance from where he fell some 12 hours earlier to call for help. Ms Zahra’s body was later discovered among bushes.”
OK, for what it’s worth. Here are my thoughts …
Firstly, how on earth did he end up on that outrock? It would be practically impossible to get there if he jumped from the cliff edge.
He would have smashed into the cliff face (which is not a complete vertical drop) rolled through rocks and vegetation, skipped over two large outrocks and then come to an abrupt stop (at speed) on the large rock where he was found. I do not see that as a credible scenario.
The injuries he would have sustained can only be guessed at, and it would have taken a team of paramedics to remove him and not just the solo rescuer.
From what I could see from the video, he did not seem to have the cuts and lacerations to corroborate falling from a height onto jagged limestone.
So, how did he get there?
I mean what I found hard to believe is that with the injuries and a broken hipbone he was able to crawl quite a few meters and climb on that rock, not that he did not fall on that boulder. Because it is very clear he didn’t fall there. I doubt he even had a broken hipbone.
FYI
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716844/Islamic-law-is-adopted-by-British-legal-chiefs.html
This is what happens when the prosperity of a country relies on cash injections from dictatorships (Saudi etc in the case of the UK). Please compare with Malta/China.
This man’s callousness is becoming more apparent.
Schifoso is the word.
I honestly still cannot find any sense in all this, being found in his knickers and ankle socks on a rock where he is supposed to have landed after falling or jumping off a 40m cliff.
Up to two weeks ago this guy had everything: the backing of the prime minister, a nice business running – practically dominating the stand-up comedy industry in Malta, had around three different incomes wages in every month. And they’re saying that he wanted to commit suicide?
We do know that the young girl was fragile and had some troubles, but possibly even Tanti had troubles of his own.
If this guy ACTUALLY did try to commit suicide – this guy is one of the unluckiest people I’ve ever heard of. Jumping off that cliff and then having to face all this crap he brought to himself is ridiculous.
As I live where detailed news from Malta are difficult to get, I may have missed some important points in this story.
But I know for sure that in cases like this, a full autopsy is carried out on the victim. Was this done?
[Daphne – Yes, of course. That is exactly why the funeral was delayed, because the investigative authorities wouldn’t release the body.]
He is not unlucky. This is all self-inflicted.
Lisa Maria Zahra was the unlucky one. Her main trouble in this case is her teacher who survived her.
Was he found wearing shorts or boxer shorts? How was he teaching when yesterday on the news it was said that he did not have a teacher’s warrant. This is a private school we are talking about, which charged high fees.
[Daphne – Exactly how are the fees relevant? So it’s all right to have low-quality teachers in state schools, because they don’t charge fees?]
The fees have nothing to do with it. If I had children who attended a state school, I would like to believe that teachers are vetted there, too.
These images raise a couple of questions:
1. I do not know if you can climb down the cliff but if he did and then climbed up that rock, he was obviously doing it to be seen and not to save the girl;
2. The fact that he was in shorts/underpants when he was found is strange – was he in his underpants when he jumped/fell or did he remove them afterwards? Where his trousers found?
There is more than meets the eye here and, at this point, I wonder if the girl was running away from him when she fell.
Sadly that’s what I’m thinking too – that the poor girl was trying to escape from this creep when she fell or he pushed her, and the creep then decided to fake a fall of his own.
That would also explain the fact that he was in his underpants, although the bit about the locked car still doesn’t make sense.
Disturbing and suspicious.
A piece if shit was found in Erin Tanti’s wallet. Informed sources say that he carried this around for purposes of identification.
People, why are you being so judgemental and rude? No need for all these hurtful comments.
Were you there? I guess not. So wtf is wrong with you people?
Imagine it was you lying there for all that time, in the freezing cold, watching your friend lifeless at the bottom.
Must have been a horrible traumatic experience in itself, so why all this prejudice? Ok, Erin here might be at fault, but may also not be. I don’t know, and you don’t know for sure either.
Why make his life miserable with all these rumours and assumptions? I swear, some people don’t have a single kind bone in their body.
“‘landed’ in a theatrical drama queen pose.”
???
Are you serious?
Shame.
Erin Tanti was Lisa Maria Zahra’s teacher. That – and not being her friend – was his role, whatever he or anyone else may think. As an adult and as a teacher, Tanti had responsibilities towards his minor pupil. Keeping a professional distance was one of them. That excluded meeting her outside school hours, picking her up in his car, keeping her away from home, driving her to Dingli cliffs, doing heaven knows what to her inside and outside his car, with her ending up dead at the bottom of a cliff.
If Tanti’s experience was traumatic and horrific, that is entirely his own fault. He drove his own car to Dingli cliffs in the dead of night. His pupil’s experience was far, far more horrific. Tanti is alive. His pupil’s dead. She didn’t drive herself to Dingli cliffs. He did.
Shame on us because we are not as gullible as Times of Malta or PBS would have us be? Really?
Shame because we are expressing our feelings about the death and mistreatment of a vulnerable girl?
Shame because we think that a teacher should never have been at Dingli Cliffs with his pupil, in his car, at 4am?
Shame because we are disgusted that he had certain pictures of her, and that he had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old?
I think you’re a bit confused as to who should feel shame.
They had better keep a watch on Erin Tanti’s sister, too, for her sake:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202037012360241&set=a.2696354341451.125647.1634389348&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202032414125288&set=a.2696354341451.125647.1634389348&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202000048676172&set=a.2696354341451.125647.1634389348&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202073561673951&set=a.2696354341451.125647.1634389348&type=3&theater
And then, predictably, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201680124598270&set=a.2696354341451.125647.1634389348&type=3&theater
I assume after he landed he tried to crawl to a more visible place, to call for help, although it does seem a little too far.
This guy should have a careful chromosome analysis.
On the midday radio news, it was reported that Tanti, although released from Mater Dei Hospital, has been taken to the psychiatric hospital.
The Teacher’s Council, according to the same source, has said that Tanti neither possessed nor had applied for a teacher’s warrant. The school employing him had said that he actually did have a warrant of sorts.
No. The school’s statement did not say that Tanti held a warrant. It said that it did everything according to law.
In any case, the possession or non-possession of a warrant is irrelevant. A warrant is not awarded on the basis of psychological testing and subject to ongoing review of a teacher’s behaviour.
Though the refusal of a warrant, and the consequent denial of a teaching post, might (narrowly) have protected a pupil in this case, the possession of a warrant is no guarantee of protection. It is perfectly possible for unsuitable people to be in possession of a teaching degree and warrant and still be a hazard to their pupils.
Tanti did not hold a warrant because he did not apply for one. What if he HAD applied and been awarded a teaching warrant? How would that have prevented all that happened?
That young girl might well have been dead before she went over the cliff.
Might?
Kif kollox itik f’ghajnek DCG?
Halijhom naqra in-nies! Mhux int tista taqbad ma kulhadd umbghad ghax tigi camera wara l-bieb toqod tibki! Kif tghamel jghamluwlek…halli lil hadiehor bi kwietu jekk idejqek min joqod jigi wara biebek.
Happy weekend to all!
Jon
Jonathan,
Daphne ma sabuhiex taht Had-Dingli b’katavru magenbha.
Jew qas s’hemm ma jwassal mohhok qalbi?
Magenbha?
The girl was far away from the rock he so comfortably rested on.
At least Romeo and Juliet lay next to each other when one of them was still alive.
What a stupid 15 year old lot are all those friends who flocked in here to declare how much he cared for her. He most certainly did not.
Is there an epidemic of stupidity and obtuseness or is the general level of intelligence naturally low?
“Taqbad man-nies” is not the point, is it?
If you care to scroll back through the news reports on this matter, you’ll see that even the most jaded of reporters is now stating facts as they are: that a teacher took a pupil of his to Dingli cliffs at night and now she’s dead.
Ustja man x’injuranza.
Mhux ahjar tmur tilghab bl-iSpiderman, Jonathan? Tinsiex tinza l-jeans.
I think had Superman fallen such a height he would probably still be in hospital, so either this Erin is immortal or parachuted his way down or maybe while he gave whisky to the youngster he instead took lots of Red Bull himself. What a farce, we need justice here, as this scenario is a fake.
Maybe he used his trousers to parachute his way down, sort of a MacGyver manouevre. That would explain the mystery of the missing trousers.
If this is true, then I guess we can safely assume that the police NEVER treated the Dingli Cliffs site where Lisa Maria Zahra was found as being a crime scene, and the evidence, if any, was never lifted:
“The two were found injured at the foot of Dingli Cliffs this afternoon. Speaking to MaltaToday, a police spokesperson said foul play was being ruled out. ” ( http://www.wwww.maltatoday.com.mt/printversion/37102/#.UzX6VRRwbIU )
I have been following the reports on this tragic incident. I am of the opinion this fellow is a creep.
To supply a 15 year old girl with aspirins and alcohol, and taking her to a place such as Dingli Cliffs where the possibility of a fall could be fatal is highly irresponsible.
I am of the opinion the purchase of aspirins and alcohol prior to driving to Dingli Cliffs is a premeditated act to drive the young girl to her eternal life. There are some countries that know how to deal with this obnoxious person.
People who intend to commit suicide don’t make any plans for the future. This guy had a whole theatrical play going on so I don’t think suicide is the issue.
La redoute,
The school did say that he had a teaching warrant! Like Daphne found his crazy posts and photos on Facebook, the school should have done the same.
Not only that he did not have a warrant but that they let a nut case teach. I’m sure more has to come out about that school.
This is not the first or second case in that school and they should really start taking care of their pupils and not only the money. I hope the school will be responsible enough now, after what happened, to investigate and make sure that all teachers, from kindergarten to senior level, have a proper warrant.
[Daphne – Yes, that’s one thing that needs to be done. But then again, it is the warrant process which needs to be worked on. Vince Taliana has a warrant, and look at him.]
I know the Daily Mail uploads a lot of rubbish but overlooking the debate on whether this is newsworthy or not, we definitely should compare and contrast.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595346/Troublemaker-teacher-sacked-branding-pupils-feral-calling-one-schoolgirl-cowface-series-Twitter-rants.html
In my view, there are no possible excuses for this “teacher” in behaving the way he did.
However, from day one of this tragedy for the 15-year-old girl I couldn’t help thinking that it is impossible that no one was aware of the situation.
This is after all a tiny island where it is impossible to do anything without coming across someone you know.
In fact it has been implied that they were known to hang out together. Moreover, the missing persons report featured on newspapers certainly gave the impression that they had gone missing together.
Does this therefore imply that the families were aware of their “relationship”? If so, how could it not have been reported to the appropriate authorities? Why do most people, especially parents, believe that they should not report such instances in order to deal with the matter in-house.
Just because a person becomes a parent does not automatically mean that parents are equipped to handle all situations which may arise. What is so wrong in asking for help?
Is reporting a clearly wrong situation to the relevant authorities looked down upon as a solution for fear of stigma, taboo, judgement etc? And even if you are branded in a particular way, isn’t that always a better option than losing a loved one, especially in this manner?