Who's who in the Yorgen Fenech trial

More than eight years after the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, the criminal case enters its most consequential phase.

On trial is businessman Yorgen Fenech, essentially accused of ordering the 2017 car bomb that killed Caruana Galizia, a charge he denies. 

Around him is a cast of convicted hitmen, accomplices, politicians, police officers and middlemen whose names are linked to one of the most notorious murders in Europe's recent history. 

Here's a guide to the key figures in the case, what role they played and why they matter.

Daphne Caruana Galizia 

A journalist and blogger who was blown up in a car bomb outside her Bidnija home in October 2017. 

She was a critic of the Labour government and had written about government and business corruption. Police believe she was murdered "for her journalistic work". 

Five people have already been convicted for her murder, while a sixth, Melvin Theuma, is the prosecution’s star witness. 

Yorgen Fenech  

The multi-millionaire heir to the Tumas Group empire. 

Fenech was arrested in November 2019 for allegedly masterminding the murder. 

He spent five years in pre-trial detention, before being released on strict bail conditions before his trial.  

Fenech previously claimed the real murder mastermind was his “good friend” Keith Schembri.  

Melvin Theuma  

A taxi driver, friend and runner for Yorgen Fenech.  

Theuma was given a presidential pardon in November 2019 to tell all about the murder.  

His major revelation to investigators: “I was hired by Yorgen Fenech”.  

To corroborate his claims, Theuma secretly recorded his conversations with Fenech after the murder. 

Alfred and George Degiorgio  

The men who planted and triggered the bomb used to murder Caruana Galizia.  

Alfred Degiorgio, known as il-Fulu, and George Degiorgio, known as iċ-Ċiniż, are serving 40-year sentences for the crime.  

They admitted to the murder in 2022, dramatically changing their not-guilty plea hours into their trial.  

Apart from forensic evidence linking them to the murder, the brothers were further nailed by testimony from Theuma and their accomplice Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu.  

Vince Muscat  

The first person in the crime syndicate to be convicted for Caruana Galizia’s murder.  

Vince Muscat admitted to helping plan the murder and acting as a runner for the Degiorgio brothers.  

He is serving a 15-year sentence after reaching a plea bargain deal with prosecutors to provide information about the murder. 

As Muscat registered his admission in February 2021, police swooped in to arrest tal-Maksar brothers Adrian and Robert Agius together with their associate Jamie Vella.  

Robert Agius  

Brothers Adrian and Robert Agius were among 10 suspects rounded up by investigators in December 2017, two months after Caruana Galizia’s murder.  

They were released without charge, but suspicions lingered about their involvement in major criminal activity.  

The big break would come with Vince Muscat (il-Koħħu)’s testimony.  

In 2025, Robert Agius went down for life after Muscat identified him as the man who supplied the bomb used to assassinate Caruana Galizia. His brother Adrian was convicted for ordering the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop. He has not been convicted in connection with the Caruana Galizia murder.   

A third associate, Jamie Vella, went down for life during the same trial.  

Jamie Vella  

Robert Agius was not alone in procuring and supplying the bomb used to blow up Caruana Galizia.  

Jamie Vella was named by il-Koħħu as being a co-conspirator in supplying the deadly bomb and is also serving a life sentence.    

Keith Schembri  

The most powerful unelected official in Joseph Muscat’s government. 

Schembri resigned as Muscat’s chief of staff in November 2019, following his arrest over the murder allegations. 

He was released a few days later without charge. Questions remain over his role and any subsequent cover-up.  

Schembri allegedly authored a letter passed on to Fenech, pinning the murder on Chris Cardona.  

Chris Cardona  

A former Economy Minister. 

Cardona suspended himself from cabinet over the murder claims in the letter allegedly, which he denies.  

He has been implicated in an aborted 2015 plot to murder Caruana Galizia, which he also denies.  

The letter implicating Cardona was allegedly passed on to Fenech by Keith Schembri, via Adrian Vella.  

Adrian Vella  

A doctor who has cared for generations of the Fenech family.  

Vella has admitted Schembri gave him “papers” to pass on to Yorgen Fenech.  

Vella has testified hearing Fenech exclaim in the days before his arraignment: “If I go down, I'll take everyone down with me".  

Keith Arnaud  

The lead investigator in the murder case. 

Arnaud was part of the team that devised a plot to turn up the heat on Theuma by arresting him on money-laundering charges, in the hope that he would confess to his role in the murder in exchange for a presidential pardon.   

Silvio Valletta  

A former deputy police commissioner.  

Silvio Valletta was taken off the murder case in June 2018, following a court challenge by Caruana Galizia’s family over his marriage to a then cabinet member.  

It was later discovered that Valletta socialised with Fenech while the murder probe was ongoing.  

Valletta faced allegations, which he denies, that he leaked information about the probe to Fenech.  

At the time, Valletta was one of the most powerful figures in the police, second only to Lawrence Cutajar.  

Lawrence Cutajar  

Former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar was another casualty of the Caruana Galizia probe, resigning mere weeks after Fenech’s arrest and arraignment as questions grew about the police probe into Schembri’s potential involvement.  

Cutajar would go on to face further questions about a meeting he had with an associate of Melvin Theuma prior to the murder middleman’s arrest.  

The ex-police commissioner claims he used the meeting with Edgar Brincat to “gain” information about Theuma.  

Edgar Brincat  

A car dealer who acted as a “father figure” to Theuma.  

During his meeting with Cutajar, Brincat was asked if he knew about Theuma’s secret recordings.  

Brincat reported the conversation back to Theuma, warning his associate that the police were after the recordings.  

The car dealer was not the only person who was aware of the secret recordings.  

Johann Cremona, another associate of Theuma, was found to “know everything about Daphne’s murder”.  

Johann Cremona  

Johann Cremona would emerge as a go-between for several key figures implicated in the murder.  

A business partner of Fenech, Cremona was also a confidante of Melvin Theuma and in contact with Keith Schembri.  

Cremona urged Theuma to dispose of the secret recordings and warned that the police would arrest him under the guise of a money-laundering investigation in a bid to secure the recordings.  

Schembri is alleged to have instructed Kenneth Camilleri in 2018 to get in contact with Cremona, so Camilleri could meet the murder middleman to “calm him”.  

Kenneth Camilleri  

A bodyguard to the then-prime minister Joseph Muscat, Camilleri has admitted in court to meeting Theuma on Schembri’s instructions.  

When Camilleri informed the then-prime minister about the meeting, he claims Muscat replied, “I’d rather not know about this”. 

During one of the meetings, Theuma asked Camilleri when brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio would be granted bail.  

Joseph Muscat  

Malta’s former prime minister. A public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s murder found his government helped create an atmosphere of impunity, which spread to other institutions.  

Speaking to police, Fenech claimed Muscat had asked him prior to his arrest if Schembri, his chief of staff at the time, featured in Theuma’s recordings. 

Muscat denies the claim.  

Investigators discovered that Schembri had been in contract with Fenech the night before the Tumas businessman attempted to flee Malta.  

Schembri says he had phoned Fenech on Muscat’s instructions, in a bid to convince the businessman not to flee.  

Ray Aquilina  

The former head of the police’s anti-money laundering unit. He has since been charged with money-laundering and corruption over a property deal with Fenech.  

Apart from his ties with Fenech, Aquilina was reportedly spotted walking into the Qormi office of Johann Cremona a number of times during police surveillance operations in the summer of 2019.   

Charlene Bianco  

An assistant to Keith Schembri who was good friends with Yorgen Fenech.  

Bianco was in contact with Fenech hours before his arrest in November 2019.  

Farrugia had sent a message to Fenech saying “You be consulting a lawyer?” to which he replied “have Giannella”. 

“Is K helping or not?” she asked, to which he replied, “so far […] but he is playing his game.” 

The witness confirmed that “K” referred to Keith Schembri. 

Ray Fenech  

The uncle of murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.  

Fenech was also in contact with his nephew in the days and hours before his escape.

Messages show Fenech advised his nephew to try and gain time and “be careful” when using credit cards abroad.  

Fenech planned on leaving aboard his boat Gio – “I don’t trust [the airport]”, he told his uncle – but text messages suggested he momentarily switched plans after his uncle warned him that Times of Malta reporters were at Portomaso. 

David Gatt  

A former police officer turned lawyer, Gatt was a close associate of Chris Cardona.  

Gatt was mentioned in the note allegedly written by Keith Schembri, implicating Cardona in Caruana Galizia’s murder. Gatt was pinpointed in the letter as the "person who would coordinate everything" with the alleged killers. 

Gatt, like Cardona, denies the claims and both have never faced charges.