'You should've taken the villa': Police tell court of Chircop murder money trail

Police tracked a getaway car through Birkirkara’s streets and pursued financial motives as they investigated the 2015 murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop, a court has heard.

Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud testified on Tuesday in the trial by jury of four men accused of Chircop’s murder: brothers Robert and Adrian Agius, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella.

Chircop was shot dead on the morning of October 8, 2015 in a garage complex at the Rampol Building in Birkirkara. Arnaud, then a police inspector leading the homicide squad, said he was alerted by the police control room at 7.15am.

By the time he arrived, the area had been cordoned off. Chircop’s body was found slumped partly inside a garage, with bloodstains on his clothes. No bullet casings were recovered.

“This is possible if using a revolver, a modified weapon, or if whoever shot retrieved the casings,” Arnaud explained.

Carmel Chircop was murdered in a garage in Birkirkara. File photo

The police immediately began piecing together a timeline. Witnesses reported hearing four or five gunshots and seeing a car drive away at speed shortly after 6.45am.

A man living opposite the garages and another man named Augustine Grixti, who discovered Chircop’s body, were among the first to be questioned. Chircop’s wife told police her husband typically left their nearby home around 6.45am, and that their son would usually accompany him but his lecture had been cancelled that morning.

Focus on a Toyota Ractis

Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from a nearby shop on John Borg Street, which, although it did not show the Rampol Building façade, captured traffic entering and leaving the area. A Toyota Ractis was seen entering the garage complex at 6.36am and leaving around the time of the murder.

The car was traced along a getaway route: Bishop Labini Street, Triq Anġlu Mallia, past a petrol station, down to Carmel Street and onto Vallery Road, before vanishing in Triq Guże Orlando due to lack of further camera coverage.

The Toyota Ractis became a car of interest, with police focusing on distinctive features such as an open sun visor, which helped track the vehicle through the footage. Arnaud said that at the time, Toyota Ractis were not “rare” in Malta, but this one stood out because of its visible details.

It was only years later, based on information from state witness Vince Muscat, that investigators discovered the getaway car had been abandoned in a Santa Venera garage.

'You should have taken the villa'

The investigation then attempted to establish a motive. Chircop’s wife said her husband had ongoing issues with Daniel Farrugia, Jeffrey Mallia, and Saviour Camilleri, although most of these appeared to have been resolved.

She also pointed to a significant dispute with Adrian Agius, linked to the sale of a warehouse in Qormi. Arnaud explained that the police spoke to the real estate agent involved, who told the police that Chircop had opened up about the issue and was mulling legal action to collect the money owed to him by Ryan Schembri, Etienne Cassar and Adrian Agius. 

According to Arnaud’s testimony, the victim’s wife said the lawyer was chasing his money in connection to the sale of the warehouse but at the time Schembri had already absconded.

Call records showed 15 interactions between Chircop and Agius between 7 September and the day of the murder. Three of those calls lasted more than 150 seconds with the longest being 197 seconds.

The lawyer’s widow said her husband had “got angry” during phone calls with Agius and recalled an incident in which Agius allegedly said: “You should have taken the villa,” referring to a hypothecated property used as collateral in their financial agreement.

Etienne Cassar told police he had no funds to repay the debt and disputed the legal validity of the debt agreement since not everyone was present when it was signed. Notary Malcolm Mangion, who drew up the agreement, insisted all parties were present at the time, though no funds were exchanged in his presence.

Using this information, the police shifted their focus on Adrian Agius and requested an arrest warrant. At the time he was abroad. When he returned, he voluntarily turned himself in on October 11, 2015. 

He confirmed he was involved in More Supermarkets and along with Schembri and Cassar, they were looking into buying a warehouse. The warehouse price was €3 million, out of which Chircop was to get €700,000, though the funds were presented as a loan to save on tax.

Arnaud said that he tried to establish whether Agius had any interest in killing Chircop, but Agius told the police that he was set on challenging the constitution of debt in court because when it was signed, not everyone was present.

He was released on bail and did not remain a suspect until 2021.

Pressed whether there were any journalists who commented on how things happened on the day of the murder, Arnaud said it was probably Joe Mikallef from Il-Mument who had published a map and the alleged getaway route. Arnaud said he was initially shocked, fearing this would hinder their investigations, but eventually relieved since it was the wrong route. 

Reference to other cases sparks objections

During his testimony, Arnaud noted similarities between the Toyota Ractis seen in the Chircop case and one used in a bombing outside Inspector Geoffrey Azzopardi’s home in Żurrieq in 2014.

Arnaud said that the motive behind Azzopardi’s bomb was in connection with an investigation into a group of people who are known to the police. 

The chief investigator explained that they have come across cases where stolen cars are used more than once before they are burnt. Between 2012 and 2018 there were a series of homicides and a group of persons of interest but the police did not have enough evidence. 

When the prosecution asked what the motive was behind the bomb placed outside Azzopardi's home, the defence objected to the reference. Defence lawyer Alfred Abela, assisting Robert Agius, observed that they are in the final stages of this jury and now reference was being made to other incidents not covered by this Bill of Indictment. 

Arnaud told the jurors that the four men were never questioned or investigated on Azzopardi's case, following a request by the defence to avoid prejudice in the mind of the jurors.

The court ruled Arnaud could testify only about facts related directly to the case at hand and could not draw comparisons to other investigations where the accused had not been charged.

Defence lawyers Ishmael Psaila and Abela raised concerns about the inclusion of unrelated material and about media coverage of the trial. Psaila claimed Times of Malta was not reporting the case fairly. The prosecution hit back asking whether Times of Malta should report as TVM, whose journalists are not even present in the courtroom.  

Madam Justice Edwina Grima said courtroom journalists had reported proceedings fairly and added that attention should be on "certain blogs and their agenda", not with the press present.

The trial continues