Appeals court clears diver of involuntary manslaughter of diving buddy
On Friday 25 November 2022, a lower court found diver Arthur Castillo, 60, guilty of the involuntary homicide of his long-time dive buddy Christine Gauci, who died following a dive in Mgarr ix-Xini, a bay on the southern coast of Gozo in January 2020. Gauci was an Armed Forces of Malta member, diving instructor and technical diver.
In a ruling that caused outrage in the diving community, the lower court handed Castillo a two-year jail term suspended for four years, which was immediately appealed.