A hired assassin has detailed how he and two other men sat in wait for a lawyer to open his garage door one morning before gunning him down in a drive-by shooting.
State witness Vincent Muscat told a court he was paid €20,000 for his part in the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop at a Birkirkara multi-storey garage in 2015.
The murder went unsolved until last month, when Muscat received a pardon for his role in the killing, in exchange for evidence against his associates. He has also turned state witness in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and has been sentenced to 15 years for his role in her assassination.
Outlining the murder plot against Chircop for the first time on Tuesday, he told a court he, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella were hired by brothers Robert and Adrian Agius to carry out the hit.
The motive of the murder was connected the lawyer chasing them for "thousands of euros" linked to to "some villa" belonging to the Agius brothers' father, he said.
He described how the trio hid a stolen car in a Santa Venera garage near Lidl until the day of the murder. Early in the morning of October 8 they drove it to the multi-storey car park with Degiorgio as the driver, Vella as the shooter and Muscat also in the car.
They waited inside the garage complex top floor, looking out of a window to spot the victim approach on foot. Then they drove down to the bottom floor, engine running, waiting for him to step inside.
When the lawyer arrived alone at his garage, they drove up to him, stopping beside him before opening fire at close range as he stood with his back to them.
"As he was turning the lock, George (Degiorgio) drove right up to him, brought Jamie (Vella) in the exact position and Jamie fired four or five shots," Muscat told the court. "He used up all his ammunition".
The trio then made off in the getaway car, hid it in the Santa Venera garage until it was dismantled and later dumped the weapon in the sea near Marsa.
Muscat said he was paid €5,000 in advance by Degiorgio, a further €10,000 afterwards and the final €5,000 by Robert Agius in Buġibba a week later.
It took six weeks from the day the murder was proposed until it was completed, he testified.
It was the second day Muscat had testified in the case against the Agius brothers, Vella and Degiorgio, who all deny a series of charges in connection with two murders.
On Monday, Muscat gave a detailed account to court about how he planned and helped carry out the attack that killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia with a bomb supplied by Robert Agius .
His evidence on Tuesday turned to the second murder.
However, he also described how in 2019 an unnamed lawyer visited him in jail at a time when he was asking for a pardon in connection with the Caruana Galizia case.
The lawyer told him Agius "could bring down the government" if he was arrested in connection with murder.
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Court adjourned
12.40pm That's it for today. Thanks for spending your morning with us. We'll be back reporting on this case on April 29.
In a few minutes, we'll have a summary of the testimony above.
Accused to face trial
12.38pm There are no more questions for today. But we have an important decree. The magistrates says that there are sufficient grounds for the four accused to face trial under the bill of indictment.
The magistrate stands and leaves. The four accused approach their lawyers.
Hire car
12.32pm Muscat had previously testified about Robert Agius supplying a hire car identical to Caruana Galizia's so they could practice picking the lock.
"Was it the Degiorgios who told you that Robert directed you to that rental garage?" lawyer Alfred Abela asks.
"Yes," Muscat replies.
Muscat confirms he had visited the rental garage before and had previously seen the owner or employee who gave them the car.
Notte Bianca
12.25pm Now Abela asks about the Notte Bianca incident. On Monday Muscat had testified that they tracked Daphne Caruana Galizia to Valletta in October 2017 and considered planting the bomb while she was there.
It was transferred to the St Venera garage to have it handy "in case they needed to plant it during the Notte Bianca event."
Asked why the bomb was left in that garage and not Naxxar, Muscat says that the hitmen had never seen her car parked outside her home.
"We were losing hope that she would ever leave it outside," he said. "There was never a time when she parked it outside, except that sole occasion."
Bomb under the boat
12.19pm Abela asks why the bomb was placed at the potato sheds in Marsa and not in the Naxxar garage.
Muscat doesn't know. It was George Degiorgio who told him that the bomb was to be put under the boat, he explains.
"Didn't that involve an element of risk?" Abela asks.
"Naturally yes," Muscat replies but adds that the mobile phone, that acted as a detonator was brought to them later.
Abela argues that the Muscat had said Alfred Degiorgio had brought that mobile.
"No. I will stick to my version," Muscat says. "First we recovered the bomb and later the Degiorgios got the mobile."
He says he didn't have any knowledge of the message on the device that acted as trigger to detonate the bomb.
Cross-examination
12.07pm Muscat is led back inside for cross-examination. The questions are all about yesterday's testimony, when Muscat took the court through the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Lawyer Alfred Abela representing the Agius brothers and Jamie Vella fires the first question - about a Naxxar garage where the bomb and weapons were kept at some point.
Muscat said there had been possessions at the garage but they were moved at some point. Abela wants to know if he was there at the time of the removal. He was not but says Alfred Degiorgio told him these items were removed.
Muscat says the rifles including two rust ones (part of an intial plot to kill Caruana Galizia) were bought by the Robert Agius and Jamie Vella. "Why would they bring rusty rifles?"
And why put the bomb under the overturned boat at the potato sheds?
Unnamed lawyer
11.59am Superintendent Keith Arnaud takes the witness stand. He confirms the meeting at the depot mentioned by Muscat at the very beginning of today's testimony in relation to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The unnamed lawyer had told Arnaud that Muscat needed to change his testimony with regards to alleged middleman Melvin Theuma "unless you want my life and that of Vince and our families in danger."
Arnaud says he turned to Muscat and asked him if he wanted to change his version. Muscat said he wanted to stick to his original version.
This meeting took place in police headquarters in 2019. Arnaud said the suggestion to change the story to say that Muscat had made everything up about Theuma because he was owed money did not make sense.
The lawyer did not say where the threats came from. At this stage Muscat had already requested a pardon and the plans for arresting Melvin Theuma were already underway.
Theuma is the self-confessed middleman in the murder and has been given a pardon in exchange for his evidence, which implicates businessman Yorgen Fenech as the mastermind.
The accused
Adrian Agius was arrested along with his brother, Robert. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier
Adrian Agius was arrested along with his brother, Robert. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier
George Degiorgio, right, is accused of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier
Robert Agius has been charged in connection with the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop. Photo: Chris Sant FournierA decree
11.56am We're back and the magistrate has just issued a decree on a request from the defence lawyers for them to meet with all four accused together in prison to discuss the case.
She says that nothing should stop the accused from preparing their defence but the decision whether to allow the meeting lies with the prison director.
Ten-minute break
11.18am We're on a ten-minute break. Defence lawyers want all statements released by Muscat to be presented in the record of the case. The prosecution says it will submit to the court decision but insists that only evidence relevant to this case is given to the defence.
St Venera garage
11.08am Muscat is now shown a series of photos by Arnaud of places linked to the murder.
The St Venera garage features in both murders - it had been used to temporarily store the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia.
And it housed the getaway car for the Carmel Chircop killing.
It was rented and paid for by Muscat in 2014/15 after he and George Degiorgio visited the owner.
"Do you know why and who's idea?" Arnaud asks.
"No idea."
Degiorgio and Vella supplied the rent money, he says. He has no idea what became of it after the Caruana Galizia assassination. He has no idea what became of the keys.
"Perhaps we hid them or threw them away. It's what we used to do - putting things here and there," he says.
Boat at Ta' Xbiex
11am Muscat says he has no idea what the others were paid for the hit. He says he reckons a boat owned by George Degiorgio was bought about the time of the murder.
He says he remembers Degiorgio calling Robert Agius asking for money to buy the boat, berthed at Ta' Xbiex. This was after the murder.
Shortly after, Agius arrived with some €30,000 for the boat. He describes Degiorgio as a "bully" and says he thinks Agius feared him.
Both Degiorgio and Agius gesture from the dock and their lawyers object to Muscat's "personal opinions".
"The boat was a gift because George solved Maksars' problem, as I see it," he says.
Motive
10.57am Regarding the motive of the murder, Muscat repeats that the lawyer was to seize "some villa" worth thousands of euro.
It belonged to the Agius brothers' father. Muscat says he had visited this villa at some point.
Six weeks to complete a murder
10.54am Muscat says it took between a month and six weeks from the murder was proposed to him until it was completed.
AK 47
10.50am Muscat explains the reason for the AK 47: it was to have ready "in case something went wrong on our way back" from the murder scene.
"Jamie was to shoot that. He's the one that had such knowledge. He once showed me firearms he kept at his farmhouse in Mosta," he says.
The AK 47 could also be used in case the pistol didn't fire.
Dumping the weapon
10.45am A week after the shooting, Muscat says he, Degiorgio and Vella took the murder weapon to Marsa, where he intended to dump it in muddy waters.
The firearm was wrapped in cloth. "George flung it a few metres out at sea," he says.
Other items in the murder, such as the car, were to be handled by Jamie, who was also to dispose of the AK 47 that was also in the car during the murder.
Muscat repeats something he said on Monday: he believes Robert Agius and Jamie Vella suppled the weapons from Italy. "It's what they used to say at the potato shed," Muscat says.
Payment
10.37am Asked where the Agius brothers were that day, Muscat says he has no idea.
He then repeats how he was paid: first a €5,000 deposit, followed by €10,000 from George Degiorgio then, a week after the killing, the final €5,000 from Robert Agius.
Muscat says he was told by Degiorgio to go to a Buġibba bar around noon. George was there, eating with his family. Muscat heard a car hooting and Robert Agius drove up in his Pajero.
"I walked up to him and he gave me €5,000."
The clean up
10.28am After they parked the getaway car in the St Venera garage, Jamie Vella told the group he would handle the stolen car. It was to be dismantled, Muscat explains.
Vella told the group there was a water hole in the lower level of the garage complex and Degiorgio would hide the weapon down there.
Afterwards they headed to a flat in the area owned by Vella, where he showered and changed to remove the gunshot residue.
All three dumped their clothes, shoes and other items into a big garbage bag. The balaclavas were likely left at the garage or Vella's flat, Muscat says.
George Degiorgio and Muscat dumped the bag in a garbage dumping site in Hamrun, where people people put domestic waste to be collected.
Vella stayed in his flat. Muscat drove Degiorgio to his car.
"It was around 9am. We then parted company," Muscat concludes.
The getaway
10.10am It took an hour between the group arriving at the garage complex, and the shooting, Muscat says.
At this point, Arnaud asks Muscat to describe the route they took after the shooting.
The trio headed out of the garage complex, turning right. They took a left turn near Birkirkara school, then another left, coming to the main road near HSBC.
They drove towards Naxxar, not Valley Road, to avoid traffic, then another left, towards St Venera where Muscat's car was parked.
They exited opposite Birkirkara post office, turned left down Valley Raod, then turned right, always trying to avoid Valley Road.
He continues to describe the route in detail before they eventually arrive at the garage.
"Meanwhile, George pulled down the sun visors to reduce our visibility. George was wearing a cap and sunglasses. Jamie and I wore balaclavas to hide our identity," he says.
'Jamie used up all ammunition'
10.15am Describing the shooting, Muscat repeats that Jamie Vella fired four or five shots. The weapon was the kind where the cartridges did not fall out, "to leave minimal trace".
"Jamie fired all shots, used up all ammunition," Muscat says.
He tells the court he immediately ducked and the last thing he remembers was seeing the boot of the Mercedes and the lawyer stepping into the garage as he opened the door.
"We then headed out," he says.
Court resumes
10.09am We're back in court. Superintendent Keith Arnaud resumes his questioning. He asks Muscat to trace the last steps of his account, just before the shooting.
Muscat says the garage door was a folding door. The lawyer had just opened the first part. The rest was still shut.
The trio were six garages away as the lawyer entered the complex.
"That was when George drove up, putting Jamie in a position allowing him to simply put out his hand. No need to get out of the car. It was right in front of the opened door," he explains.
"Jamie had his hand ready to fire. I simply saw the lawyer's back. Then Jamie fired all those shots."
He says the lawyer had barely stepped into the garage - just two steps in. Muscat remarks that they could see the lawyer's light Mercedes, an old model, iniside.
He had a leather bag "the kind lawyer's use", either black or brown.
The victims
The victims: Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb in 2017. Two years earlier, lawyer Carmel Chircop was shot dead.Ten minute break
09.52am And after laying out the murder plot, the magistrate calls a ten minute break
'Jamie fired four or five shots'
09.45am Muscat says that George Degiorgio always wanted Jamie Vella to shoot from the car, without getting out.
The trio had waited at the top floor of the garage complex to avoid people who came for their cars.
They saw Chircop approach by foot, then went to the ground floor level.
They could see the victim approach the garage door and watched other people coming for their cars. They faced directly the lawyer's garage.
"Then the lawyer appeared, our car engine was running all the while. Jamie had lowered the window. George drove up to the lawyer, stopping level some one and a half metres away from the lawyer. The weapon was very close," he continues.
Carmel Chircop was alone.
"He came up the ramp, opened the door and as he was turning the lock, George drove right up to him, brought Jamie in the exact position and Jamie fired four or five shots."
Court disturbance
09.43am There's an argument in court between the Chircop family lawyer and the defence, who were apparently laughing or passing some comments.
"Here we're talking about the killing of a person!" lawyer Vincent Galea says.
The magistrate restores order and says there will be a break soon.
'It was Jamie to shoot'
09.40am The three arrived in the stolen Toyota. George Degiorgio was driving, while Jamie Vella and Vincent Muscat were in the back, so they could lower themselves easily and not be seen.
"It was Jamie to shoot, obviously," Muscat says.
"Why obviously?" Inspector Arnaud asks.
"Because it was Jamie to shoot. I was asleep in the back."
The journey
09.35am On the day of the murder, he, George Degiorio and Jamie Vella drove Muscat's car to the St Venera garage and parked it inside after taking out the stolen vehicle.
"It was a dark vehicle. We took that car and headed to Birkirkara, taking the same route we would trace back," he recalls.
"In that Birkirkara garage, there was a back window that gave us a view of the lawyer approaching.
"We got to the garage complex, we went to the topmost floor. To keep a lookout at the window."
Muscat explains that there were three storeys at the garage complex. The lawyer's garage was the first one on the left, near the entrance.
He remarks to the court that he wasn't needed for the hit. They had a driver and person to shoot. But they wanted him anyway.
The plan
09.30am Muscat details the plan: to leave a St Venera garage (the same one he mentioned as part of the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder plot) before the break of day, around 5am to make sure there would be no road closure.
Then they would drive the stolen vehicle to the spot and after the crime head back to St Venera.
They had a pistol, a revolver, and, under his feet in the car, an AK 47.
€20,000 for the murder
09.23am Jamie Vella then got involved in the plot, Muscat tells the court. They covered the route they would take before and after the shooting.
They discussed money: "I asked for a €5,000 cut and the rest, €15,000 I would get after."
He was paid by Robert and Adrian Agius, he tells the court while George Degiorgio spoke to him about the money.
"First George gave me €5,000 (before the crime) then €10,000 by George. then the last €5,000 I got from Maksar," he explains.
"George told me to go to a Buġibba bar. I did go. George was there having lunch withhis family."
Robert Agius drove up in his Pajero and Muscat crossed over to him. 'Here you go Ċens,' Robert told me, handing me the final payment."
The sum was fixed in the presence of all three: George Degiorgio and Robert and Adrian Agius.
Monitoring movements
09.22am The Agius brothers told Muscat that Chircop visited Valletta daily, leaving home no later than 8am every morning.
They tracked down the location of the lawyers garage and also kept watch their.
'Get rid' of lawyer
09.18am Standing up to identify Robert and Adrian Agius in court, Muscat says they continued to pile pressure on him to "get rid" of the lawyer.
Once they went to Birgu waterfront to watch Chircop and his wife at a restaurant. There was a feast so Muscat and Adrian Agius bought burgers and Coke from a food kiosk.
They got a "good look" at the lawyer, then left.
'Money and a villa' at stake
09.13am Muscat began watching Carmel Chircop in his home near McDonald's. He wanted to find out more about him.
"Maksar began to come to the sheds every day, pressuring us a lot," he tells the court. "There was some money and a villa at stake. That's all I know. Remember, I'm a man, who doesn't like to ask questions."
He describes finding out that Chircop went to a Naxxar cafeteria, and would follow him there. He also had a Mercedes, that was garaged somewhere.
Carmel Chircop was shot dead on October 8 2015 in a multi-storey garage in John Borg street, Birkirkara. Photo: Mark Zammit CordinaChircop murder
09.09am With that prelude over, Muscat's testimony now turns to a second murder, that of Carmel Chircop, who was killed in a Birkirkara garage in October 2015.
You'll remember Muscat has been granted a pardon over his involvement in this murder.
The Marsa potato shed sets the scene in September/October of that year when Muscat was with George Degiorgio.
"He told me that the Maksars (the nickname for the Agius brothers in the dock) wanted to get rid of some Birkirkara lawyer, who was chasing Adrian (Agius) for money," he says.
They discuss money and then start tracking the lawyer's movements.
Death threats against Muscat family
09.04am Arnaud, who is in court, asks him to explain what he has just said about Melvin Theuma.
"What was the reason why the lawyer told you that proposal?" Arnaud asks. "Was your family involved in the matter?"
Muscat replies yes, he says the unnamed lawyer had told me that the mother of my children and one of them would be killed, possibly in an acid attack.
They left and the lawyer appeared angry, Muscat says.
Muscat 'asked to change story'
09.02am A third time this lawyer told him that they were going to speak to Superintendent Arnaud at the depot. They went and Muscat makes the following allegation.
He said they said: "We need to change the version Cens. Say that you owed money to Melvin Theuma and say what you said about it was lies."
Arnaud told him, "at the end of the day, the decision is yours," Muscat claims.
Robert Agius 'power to bring down government'
08.56am Muscat says he wants to add three points to what he said yesterday. He starts of by referring to a lawyer who visited him in 2019. He came for another case but sent a message from Alfred Degiorgio: 'Tell Censu, wouldn't it be better if he took some money rather than continue in this way?'
He was also told Robert Agius "had the power to bring down government if he was implicated in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder".
Vincent Muscat takes stand
8.52am Good morning. We've just been allowed in to Hall 22, where all the accused are already in the dock and Vincent Muscat is seated at the witness stand.
The key players
Here's a glossory of some of the names you'll likely hear today.
- Robert Agius, Adrian Agius, Jamie Vella, and George Degiorgio face various charges related to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop. They are in the dock today;
- Vince Muscat has admitted his role in both murders and has turned state witness;
- Alfred Degiorgio along with his brother George and Muscat are accused of planting and detonating the bomb;
- Businessman Yorgen Fenech is accused of masterminding the plot;
- Taxi driver Melvin Theuma has admitted being the middleman between the killers and Fenech and has been granted a pardon in exchange for evidence;
- Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia represent the Caruana Galizia family;
- William Cuschieri is appearing for George Degiorgio;
- Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo is presiding over the case;
- Lawyer George Camilleri is representing the Attorney General while, Superintendent Keith Arnaud and Inspectors Shawn Pawney and Wayne Camilleri are prosecuting;
- Vince Galea is appearing for the Chircop family;
- Marc Sant is representing Muscat