He stole the cash – and I can think of several reasons why he might have wanted it

Published: April 4, 2014 at 2:23pm

cash tanti erin

erin tanti taken to court

Malta Today reports that the police found Eur2,500 in cash in Erin Tanti’s car. That would be why he locked it when he got out to do whatever he did that ended up with him posing on a large rock, body intact, claiming to have fallen 40 metres.

Now that this news has broken, I am in a position to reveal that it was Erin Tanti’s fellow members of the comic act The Wembley Store Boys who reported him missing to the police when they found out that he had emptied The Wembley Store Boys bank account and they couldn’t trace him.

Take a look at that photograph of Tanti being driven to court under police guard. Does that look normal to you? He is loving the attention, defiantly leaving his face exposed, and there is not one sign of distress or grief on that face, either. He actually looks as though he is consciously playing the part of some heroic but dignified victim of state oppression.

Compare that to the so-called cat-killer, who was photographed in the classic position of extreme grief, shame and distress in the back of that same car.




41 Comments Comment

  1. silvio loporto says:

    Why would he bother locking his car if he did not intend to come back?

    Did he walk down there to cover the girl’s body so it would take long for the police to find it?

    Was the money to be used for his going abroad and led everyone on a wild goose chase making them think that they both have left the country?

    I know I’m being a bit unchristian, but even the look on this man’s face makes my stomach turn.

    • ACD says:

      I don’t think you’re being unchristian. Tanti is charged with assisting the suicide of a child. Just stop and think about what that means.

      Just try and imagine what it must have been like that night, with this girl driven to a cliffside by her abuser. She probably trusted him – he’s her teacher after all -and she thinks she knows him. He’s brought booze and painkillers.

      We don’t know exactly what happened next, but a charge of assisted suicide means that Tanti willingly provided the means for a 15-year-old girl to kill herself. It’s made worse because Tanti was both her abuser and held a position of power and trust.

      I urge you to think about what that really means – to help a child kill themselves, especially when you’re in Tanti’s position.

      In fact, to me, he’s set a new standard of what it means to be a monster. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever heard about.

      • adrian friggieri says:

        Great words, it’s one of the best replies ever – you pointed out all the main issues about this new meaning of a monster.

  2. Makjavel says:

    He seems proud of what he did.

    Did he have an axe to grind?

  3. Jozef says:

    Quite a budget to plan a suicide. Please.

  4. George Grech says:

    Is that a hickie on his neck ?

  5. Ivan says:

    Just take a look at the heading of this feature on Sunday Circle. Very fitting indeed:

    http://www.sundaycircle.com/2013/03/knocking-em-dead/

    • Quebramar Dive Antartica 2010 says:

      Fl-Intervista, tkellem hu biss. Nies ‘suicidal’ jitkellmu ftit, mhux bhal dak gas down, qisu l-owner ta’ Strada Stretta u qisu Malta Tieghu Biss.

      Nies ‘suicidal’ ma jkollhomx dik il-kunfidenza qawwija fihom infushom plus dak il-video milghux li ntaghmel xi 10 snin, izda jidher ricenti.

  6. A.Attard says:

    Here is the actor in action:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL67IiZAJfg

  7. Magister says:

    He looks proud like the Nazi criminals of war at the Nuremberg trial.

  8. AE says:

    So a thief as well. There is no benefit of the doubt to give this evil man.

    I hope to God they do not consider reducing his sentence if he has never been charged before. He has done enough for several life-times.

    He should be put away for the rest of his days.

    To let someone with this mental disposition out in society would be putting other people in danger.

    The one thing that irks me about someone like him being in jail, is that they are not made to pay for it either in cash or good hard labour. Why his ‘stay’ should be at the expense of our taxes beats me.

  9. Benny Hill says:

    Do you think he wanted to leave Malta?

  10. Francis Saliba M.D. says:

    Anybody who left two thousand five hundred euro in his car would lock it otherwise he would risk not finding it still there when he returned to the car, provided he intended to return to the car.

  11. Chad Withers says:

    Daphne, if you check out Erin’s YouTube page, you’ll find some disturbing things – including a film he apparently produced and starred in called “Cock and Clit” – on his public YouTube page for all to see. Why was this man allowed around children?

  12. Veronica says:

    Why on earth would he do that if his intention was to commit suicide?

  13. jack says:

    @ DCG

    You missed this one – http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130603/thezone-careers/a-man-walks-into-a-bar.472312

    @ 2:20 – almost prophetic “he is socially awkward”….

  14. Marie Louise Coleiro Preca says:

    “The president of her constituents” No better title

  15. Antoine Vella says:

    I can’t imagine anyone stealing money just before he intends to end his own life.

  16. Giraffa says:

    A person who is contemplating suicide would not steal that kind of money and leave it in a locked car. What was he thinking? That he would retreive the money after the event and get back to his school?

  17. Timon of Athens says:

    Clearly the face of a psychopath.

  18. Queli says:

    What’s with that smug look on his face. No sign of remorse or guilt.

  19. Quebramar Dive Antarctica 2010 says:

    WARPED.

  20. roberto says:

    I am getting quickly tired of these Erin Tanti\ Cat Killer (whatever his name is) comparisons. These are two extremely different cases which just do not bear any comparison at all. Stop pretending they do. You are just too simplistic.

    • La Redoute says:

      The point is that they are entirely different case with entirely different reactions that are disproportionate to the cases themselves: the accusations of animal killing brought out a lynch mob; the alleged murder of a young girl by her teacher brought out the rabble yelling in his defence.

  21. Phili B says:

    Planning to go to Sicily maybe?

  22. Ruth says:

    Whilst looking for some information on these ‘Wembley Store Boys’ on the internet, I came across this interview.

    http://insiteronline.com/comment/interviews/guys-sitting-bar/

    His choice of idols and influences from the stand-up comedy world and his description of them are very ‘interesting’, one must say.

    “Russell Brand is a pro at creating a godlike persona”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Brand

  23. The Three Monkies says:

    Where are Erin’s so called friends? Have they finally realised what he is actually made of.

  24. MYL says:

    The more I read, the more I think this guy was abusing the poor girl, and that his intentions were bad. I think he had leaving the island on his mind not committing suicide.

    And what about the school? Is it going to be held responsible for employing someone without a warrant – or as the council today published – didn’t even apply for a temporary one?

    Veru pajjiz tal-mickey mouse if justice is not done!

    • Tinnat says:

      If my children attended that school, I’d be taking them out next term.

    • M. says:

      I never once believed it was a double-suicide attempt. The man comes across as nothing but a perverted, sleazy schemer with a warped mentality, and would probably have planned this to a tee, probably having seen his prize trophy victim as easy fodder.

      Nothing will bring Miss Zahra back, and her family will have to live with the sad consequences of Erin Tanti’s abhorrent actions. As for Tanti himself? I bloody well hope that he gets the justice he deserves.

  25. Harry Purdie says:

    This guy appears to have been a train wreck, waiting to happen. Guess he got his wish.

  26. gaetano pace says:

    Many questions posed may go unanswered. But surely the episode as we got to know it leaves many doubts in the air. Had it been a suicide attempt, who went first? If they went down embracing each other how did they separate with the teenager falling deeper than he did? I do believe the post mortem and the forensic tests will bring to light most of what was intended by Erin to be hidden.

  27. Aunt Hetty says:

    Ardit u besqa! Jiddispjacini ghal familtu u ghal vittma tieghu u familtha, imma hu…

  28. H.P. Baxxter says:

    I never thought I’d be saying this, but Franco Debono is beginning to seem almost normal

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