Jury retires to consider Maksar gang murder trial verdict

The jury in a trial of four men accused in the murders of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop has retired to consider its verdict. 

Prosecutors allege Robert Agius, known as Ta' Maksar, and Jamie Vella, supplied the military grade explosive used to murder Caruana Galizia in a car bomb on October 16, 2017.

Adrian Agius is accused of commissioning the October 2015 hit on lawyer Carmel Chircop, who was shot dead while opening his garage in Birkirkara on October 8, 2015. Prosecutors allege the murder was carried out with the complicity of his brother Robert, along with Vella and the fourth accused, George Degiorgio.

They deny any wrongdoing and their lawyers have claimed the key witness in the case, convicted hitman Vincent Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, was not credible or consistent in his testimony.  

The four accused, from left: Jamie Vella, Robert Agius, George Degiorgio, Adrian Agius. Photo: Times of Malta

The trial by jury began on April 24, more than four years after they were first arraigned.

Their arrests came after convicted hitman, Vince Muscat, who confessed to his role in the murder of Caruana Galizia, began providing information to the police in April 2018.

He eventually secured a reduced prison term in the Caruana Galizia case and a presidential pardon in the 2015 murder of Carmel Chircop. Muscat, along with self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma, who was granted a presidential pardon in the Caruana Galizia case, testified before the jurors during this trial by jury.

They were among 157 witnesses summoned in this trial.

Vince Muscat, centre, was the star witness in the trial. Photo: Times of Malta

Summing up the evidence before sending the jury out, Madam Justice Edwina Grima told them a minimum of six votes to three were requried for them to reach a verdict. 

She told them it was "not an easy" case, encouraged them to go back to the recordings, documents and testimonies and reminded them that only evidence brought before them should be taken into consideration when deliberating on the verdict. 

Before they retired shortly after 9.30am, the judge told them to look at the first count of crime, and explained that if the facts at hand do not fall under the definition of co-principal they can still be found guilty as an accomplice.

Before they retired to their chamber, Madam Justice Edwina Grima thanked the Court Services Agency CEO Vanessa Grech, the Registrar of Criminal Courts and Tribunals Elizabeth Quintano, the chief marshall, the police officers, jurors, correctional services officers, lawyers, media, and her staff.