Wrap: Koħħu tells Yorgen Fenech trial of €150k murder plan, police leaks
Hitman takes the witness stand in case concerning murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia
Updated 6.25pm
Convicted hitman Vince Muscat gave jurors a first-hand account of how Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder was planned and carried out when he testified in the case against Yorgen Fenech on Monday.
Over almost seven hours of testimony, Muscat confirmed that he, George Degiorgio and Alfred Degiorgio agreed to carry out the murder for €150,000 after being approached through self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma.
He told jurors the hitmen received a non-refundable €30,000 deposit, split it equally and bought four burner phones - one each for the three hitmen and one for Theuma. They then started watching Caruana Galizia and tracking her movements.
Muscat, known by his nickname il-Koħħu, is serving a 15-year sentence for that crime as part of a deal that also requires him to provide information about the 2017 assassination.
Fenech denies commissioning Caruana Galizia's murder. Prosecutors allege he paid €150,000 through middleman Melvin Theuma to arrange the killing.
Theuma asked them to stop the plot when the 2017 election was called, but had them resume it once the election was over, Muscat testified on Monday.
Muscat said Theuma told them that the order to kill Caruana Galizia was due to her being on the cusp of publishing “something big” and that if she published it before she was killed, the person behind the order would call the whole thing off.
'We'll do it, kids or no kids'
The hitmen watched the Caruana Galizia countryside home from a vantage point in Mosta, followed the journalist to a café in Naxxar and even tailed her as she went shopping with her husband.
They came close to killing her on the night of Notte Bianca – “we’ll do it no matter who she’s with, kids or no kids,” Muscat claimed George Degiorgio said – but scrapped that plan when they couldn’t find her car parked in Valletta.
Muscat then described how the bomb was moved between garages before Alfred Degiorgio placed it beneath Caruana Galizia's car outside her Bidnija home.
On the day of the murder, George Degiorgio waited aboard the cabin cruiser Maya ready to send the text message that detonated the device.
Muscat confirmed previous evidence that George's phone had run out of credit shortly before the explosion and had to be topped up before he sent the fatal SMS that detonated the bomb.
Muscat and Alfred Degiorgio, who were watching from the vantage point, only saw some white smoke.
They left the area thinking the bomb had failed to detonate.
Muscat said he stopped for coffee and pastizzi in Rabat. There, he saw a TV report about a fatal explosion in Bidnija.
"I felt sick to the stomach," he told the jury, saying he later spent about an hour alone in Howard Gardens feeling remorse.
Tipped off about police raid
Later in the day, Muscat testified that both the Degiorgio brothers and Melvin Theuma appeared to know police were preparing to raid the Marsa potato shed weeks before officers moved in on December 4, 2017.
He said incriminating material was removed beforehand.
The jury also heard Muscat's account of an earlier, aborted plot to kill Caruana Galizia in 2015.
Muscat testified that George Degiorgio had told him then economy minister Chris Cardona wanted the journalist killed and that he, the Degiorgio brothers and bomb supplier Jamie Vella had been asked to carry out the shooting for €150,000.
He said the Degiorgio brothers also said former police commissioner Michael Cassar was involved. Cassar told Times of Malta he categorically denies any involvement.
According to Muscat, the 2015 murder plan collapsed because the requested deposit was never paid.
He also recounted claims allegedly made to him by the Degiorgio brothers that Cardona remained involved in subsequent meetings before the 2017 murder and was receiving information about the investigation through senior police officer Silvio Valletta.
Cardona has consistently denied any involvement in the murder. Valletta has also denied wrongdoing.
Police never asked to clone Schembri's phone
Earlier on Monday, court IT expert Martin Bajada concluded his testimony.
Asked by jurors why Keith Schembri's missing mobile phone had never been cloned, Bajada replied that police had never asked him to do so.
The day's proceedings were briefly interrupted while lawyers argued over how prosecutors could question Muscat.
Judge Edwina Grima ruled that prosecutors could refer Muscat to his earlier testimony during the compilation of evidence whenever he said he could not remember a detail, rather than waiting until the end of his evidence.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
Attorney General lawyers Anthony Vella, Godwin Cini and Danika Vella are leading the prosecution.
Lawyers Giannella de Marco, Charles Mercieca and Gianluca Caruana Curran are appearing for the defendant.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are appearing on behalf of the victim's family.
Judge Edwina Grima is presiding over the case.
As it happened
Live blog ends
6pm We'll have a summary of the day's key points of testimony available at the top of this article soon.
That's all from us today. Thank you for having joined us, we'll be back tomorrow.
Where did the money come from?
5.58pm The judge asks Muscat where this money the Degiorgios mentioned was coming from. Muscat says it was being collected among various people ("kienet issir ġabra," he says) and that Melvin Theuma also forked out money.
That’s the last question of the day – the judge suspends his testimony and wraps up today’s proceedings.
The case resumes tomorrow at 9am.
Degiorgio's €100k claim about judge
5.52pm Muscat says his legal aid lawyer told him police had nothing on him.
In prison, the Degiorgio brothers told him that they had paid a judge “who is now a former judge” €100,000.
[The judge who was hearing the Degiorgios’ bail request has previously denied ever being approached in connection with the case.]
Alfred Degiorgio also told him that he was in contact with Melvin Theuma while in prison, through a burner phone.
Plan to meet Cardona in Siġġiewi
5.45pm Muscat is asked if he ever drove Alfred Degiorgio anywhere else.
He says he once drove him to a bar in Siġġiewi, to meet Chris Cardona. Degiorgio told him that he intended to get more information about the December 4 raid and murder investigation from Cardona.
Muscat knew the bar – he often went there himself – and said he had seen Cardona there in the past. But the minister wasn’t there that day.
The day of the raid
5.41pm On December 4 (the day of the raid), Alfred Degiorgio picked him up at 5am and they headed to the Marsa potato shed.
The prosecution wants to know: If he knew police were coming, why did he go there?
Muscat says he didn’t expect to be arrested.
“George always said that they would be arresting Alfred,” he says.
Police raided the shed, and arrested several people – including Muscat.
Degiorgio's desire for more
5.35pm After they got word of the upcoming police raid, George Degiorgio started saying the three of them deserved much more money than they had been paid for the hit.
Muscat says. Degiorgio mentioned €3 million.
“What’s €150,000,” Muscat recalls him saying.
A worried Iblaħ
5.32pm Muscat says he once drove Alfred Degiorgio to meet a man known as Toni l-Iblaħ (an associate of Chris Cardona's).
They spent around 30 minutes together and both of them looked worried.
“I never asked (what about), but I remember Alfred telling me he was going to meet with him again,” Muscat testifies.
Theuma was also tipped off
5.28pm Theuma also seemed to have information about the upcoming police raid.
Muscat says Theuma came to the Marsa shed and told Alfred Degiorgio “your tip about the police coming here on December 4 matches the information I received.”
Tipped off about the Marsa raid
5.20pm George Degiorgio knew the police were onto him, Muscat says.
He recalls speaking to Alfred Degiorgio one morning at the Marsa potato shed. Alfred told him police were going to raid the shed to arrest George.
Muscat says he knew of the impending raid around "two or three weeks" before it happened. They used that time to remove "things that might have incriminated us," he says.
Muscat recalls asking Alfred "what would become of me if his brother was arrested. He told me his brother had done nothing.”
From then on, he would notice the brothers speaking among themselves and he’d grow suspicious.
Getting the rest of the money
5.13pm Muscat is asked a series of other questions.
About feeling remorseful: “I did, but I can’t speak for others.”
About Melvin Theuma: “Il-Fulu (Alfred) told him to throw away his (burner) phone. Theuma invited us for a meal at the Valletta Waterfront, but Il-Fulu told him it was too soon.”
About the rest of the money: “One day, I drove Il-Fulu to a spot near the Marsascala boathouses. I went into a little bar there and Il-Fulu went somewhere with the car. When he came back, he had the money wrapped in bundles of €500. I took my share of around €40,000.”
George Degiorgio's top-up
5.05pm Muscat is asked about the burner phones they were using.
He confirms that George Degiorgio’s job was to send the SMS to detonate the bomb. But his phone ran out of credit, so he called a guy called Miguel to top him up.
'We thought the bomb hadn't worked'
5pm The following morning, Muscat went to Alfred Degiorgio’s house. They then went to their lookout spot.
Alfred received a call at around 10am or 11am. It was from George, asking what was taking so long.
A few hours later, they saw Daphne Caruana Galizia walk out of the house towards her car. She turned back, as though she had forgotten something, then returned a few minutes later.
As soon as Daphne started driving, Alfred Degiorgio called George and told him to detonate the bomb.
“We thought nothing happened, because we just saw some white smoke but heard nothing,” Muscat says. They drove away thinking the bomb hadn’t worked.
He stopped for pastizzi and coffee in Rabat, and saw news of the blast on the TV.
“I felt sick to the stomach,” Muscat, one of the hitmen, says. He then spent an hour in the gardens just outside Mdina (Howard Gardens), feeling remorseful.
Placing the bomb
4.50pm Muscat recalls George Degiorgio calling him one evening at around 9pm and telling him Daphne’s car was parked outside the house. He told him to fetch the bomb from Santa Venera to Naxxar.
Muscat said he had to go to the Marsa potato shed, fetch the garage key, then get the bomb from Santa Venera, take it to the Naxxar garage and drive to Bidnija. He did not want to do all that alone but felt he had no choice.
When he got to Bidnija, he found Alfred Degiorgio there. He then drove to Mġarr and parked his car there. Alfred Degiorgio then picked him up and they drove to the Naxxar garage to pick up the bomb.
From there, George Degiorgio gave both of them a lift to Bidnija. It was around 11.30pm by then.
Muscat first says George Degiorgio headed home because he needed to be up early the following day, to be out at sea when he detonated the bomb.
Then he says that George Degiorgio came back to pick him and Alfred up after Alfred placed the bomb in Daphne’s car.
Court back in session
4.34pm The judge and jury return to the courtroom. The hearing resumes.
Vince Muscat il-Koħħu resumes his testimony where he left off.
30 minutes recess
4.05pm The judge calls a 30-minute recess.
Hitmen's plan for Notte Bianca
4.03pm The hitmen wanted to attach the bomb to Daphne’s car while she was out attending Notte Bianca events in Valletta, Muscat says. [Notte Bianca that year was held on October 7].
They knew she was in Valletta and moved the bomb from the Naxxar garage to one that Muscat rented in Santa Venera. They figured it was just a short hop from Santa Venera to Valletta.
Then they went to Valletta to look for Daphne’s parked car.
“We’ll do it no matter who she’s with, kids or no kids,” Muscat says George Degiorgio told them.
But they couldn’t find her car parked anywhere, so that plan was foiled.
David Gatt's "number 1"
3.52pm Muscat is asked about David Gatt. He says Gatt was often at the Marsa potato shed. Gatt would sometimes signal “number 1” [Kohhu makes the thumbs up sign].
He says he had asked George Degiorgio what Gatt meant with that gesture.
“He told me that Gatt was referring to Keith Schembri, not Chris Cardona.”
Getting the bomb
3.40pm Muscat is asked about the bomb eventually used to kill Daphne.
George Degiorgio had told him that Jamie Vella and Robert Agius ta Maksar had smuggled three bombs into Malta.
Then one day, Alfred Degiorgio told him that the bombs were in hand. They placed one inside a boat at the Marsa potato shed, then eventually moved it to a Naxxar garage, inside a shoebox.
The device was around five inches long and two inches high, he says. It had a slot for a SIM card and a switch to turn it on or off.
Robert Agius and Jamie Vella had come to the Naxxar garage to show Alfred Degiorgio how the device worked. Muscat says he was there, observing.
They had also filled a bottle with petrol and attached it to the bomb.
Degiorgio claimed info came from Silvio Valletta
3.28pm Muscat recalls driving Alfred Degiorgio to Valletta. Degiorgio would tell him he was going to speak to Chris Cardona (who at the time was economy minister) to get information [for the murder].
Muscat says he’d see Degiorgio entering Castille (which serves as the Office of the Prime Minister) but he cannot say for sure whether Degiorgio really met with Cardona.
“I didn’t like to probe, but Degiorgio once told me that Cardona was getting information from assistant commissioner Silvio Valletta,” he says.
[Valletta was initially in charge of the murder probe before a court kicked him out of it following a legal challenge by the Caruana Galizia family. It later emerged that he was friendly with Yorgen Fenech and the two had holidayed together.]
Muscat also recalls Degiorgio telling him that he (Degiorgio) was with Cardona when the minister received a message.
“It looks like they’re charging €150,000,” [Hawn €150,000 se jieħdu] Cardona allegedly told Degiorgio.
“That’s for the same one,” [Dak għall-istess wieħed] Degiorgio said he replied.
Silvio Valletta.Spying on Daphne
3.20pm Muscat recalls more detail about staking out the Caruana Galizia family home. They had bought a €300 pair of binoculars, he says, and they were “very handy because they autofocused”.
They often watched Daphne Caruana Galizia, once following her as she went shopping with her husband and various other times at the Naxxar cafe she liked.
When returning home, sometimes she’d park her car in the garage and sometimes, outside.
Guns prepared for 2015 plot
3.10pm Muscat is asked about the original 2015 plot to kill Daphne. A lot of preparatory work had been done, he says. They had sourced weapons from the Ta’ Maksar brothers – one was “brand new with a telescope,” he says - and removed parts of a rubble wall behind the Caruana Galizia home.
The plan was for Alfred Degiorgio to shoot her.
Degiorgio reassured Theuma
3.02pm Muscat also recalled Alfred Degiorgio (Il-Fulu) taking Melvin Theuma to the spot in Mosta from which they surveilled the Caruana Galizia house, “to reassure him that we were working and ready to seize the opportunity when it arose.”
Theuma said it all hinged on when Daphne published
3pm Muscat recalls Theuma telling them (himself and the Degiorgio brothers) that Daphne Caruana Galizia was going to be exposing “something big”.
Theuma told them that if she published it before she was killed, the person who got him (Theuma) to arrange the murder would be calling everything off.
Koħħu's confusion on payment date
2.54pm We immediately get an example of why the prosecution was pushing for the ability to refer to Muscat's prior testimony.
Prosecutors ask Muscat if the €30,000 deposit was paid before or after the general election.
Muscat says the money was paid a bit before. But you previously testified that the money was paid after the election, the prosecution notes.
Muscat says he can’t be sure about the timing, but he thinks it was before.
Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu (right) during a previous on-site inquiry.Prosecution (kind of) gets its way
2.45pm The court has decided: the prosecution can make reference to Muscat's prior testimony in the compilation of evidence whenever Muscat says he cannot recall something.
The defence was objecting to this: it argued that the prosecution could only make reference to Muscat's prior testimony at the end of its questions. Prosecutors wanted the ability to weave in questions and references to those previous testimonies as it went along.
Back in court
2.30pm We're back in Hall 22. Judge Grima has just entered the courtroom for the second part of today's session.
Break for lunch
12.50pm The judge has decided to pause the hearing for a lunch break.
She will decree on the method by which Muscat can be questioned when the hearing resumes at 2.30pm.
Judge exits courtroom
12.20pm Judge Edwina Grima has exited the courtroom. We expect her to return with a decree on how Muscat can be questioned.
Koħħu on Michael Cassar
12.05pm While we wait for the judge to issue a decree on how Vince Muscat Il-Koħħu can be questioned, a clarification on what he said earlier about former police commissioner Michael Cassar.
When speaking about the 2015 murder plot that went nowhere, Muscat said that George Degiorgio told him that Cassar was "one of the four people" behind the plot.
Legal dispute over questioning method
11.55am The jury has been ordered out while the prosecution and defence argue about the way in which Vince Muscat (il-Koħħu) can be examined.
Prosecutors want the court to allow them to refer to Koħħu’s previous testimony in the case’s compilation of evidence while he is giving evidence. They essentially want to be able to remind the witness of what he previously testified right at the point when he speaks about an incident or recollection in this trial.
The defence, on the other hand, wants Koħħu first to testify uninterrupted, and only be confronted with any alleged inconsistencies in his testimony at the end of his testimony. Koħħu is a prosecution witness, they say.
Plot resumes after the election
11.38am After the 2017 election, Theuma told them that the plot was back on.
Il-Koħħu recalls a detail from spying on Caruana Galizia’s home: the family had a maid who came once a week in a red Toyota Vitz, he testifies.
Alfred Degiorgio would spy on her most because he lived relatively close in St Paul’s Bay.
On one occasion, they spied on her at a Naxxar cafe. Theuma had told them she liked to go to that cafe.
She bought a packet of cigarettes, sat at a table alone and opened her laptop, il-Koħħu recalls.
An expensive drink
11.25am The prosecution asks about any other money paid by Theuma.
Il-Koħħu says Theuma had given Alfred Degiorgio around €1,000 initially, before paying the €30,000 deposit.
Theuma told Degiorgio to “buy a drink” with the money, Koħħu testifies.
'Stop the plot because of the election'
11.20am After that meeting, Il-Fulu told him that the job was to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Koħħu and the Degiorgio brothers agreed to do it together, and to charge €150,000 for the hit – with a €30,000 non-refundable deposit.
A few days later they bought four cheap mobile phones – one for each of them and one for Theuma.
Degiorgio met with Theuma at Busy Bee again, and Theuma agreed to the price and even offered to pay the deposit there and then.
Alfred Degiorgio was given the €30,000 deposit at a third Busy Bee meeting with Theuma, handed to him inside a cigarette bag. The hitmen took €10k each and started spying on Caruana Galizia.
Some time later (Koħħu thinks it might have been a week or so), Theuma sent them a message: Stop the plot because of the general election.
Koħħu is asked about the motive behind that order. He says Alfred Degiorgio simply told him it had to do with “something important”.
Tracking down Melvin Theuma
11.10am Questions shift to the 2017 plot. Koħħu was still a regular at the Marsa potato shed. George Degiorgio’s brother, Alfred (Il-Fulu) had approached him and told him he had a big job he needed help with.
Il-Fulu had gotten wind of the job from Darren Debono it-Topo. Theuma had relayed a message to it-Topo, telling him he needed to let the Degiorgio brothers know that he needed to speak to them.
Koħħu knew Theuma going back years, he says – Theuma ran an illegal bookie operation and was also a taxi driver.
Koħħu says he and Il-Fulu went to the Marsa horse racing track (where Theuma hung out) but didn’t find him.
A few days later, il-Fulu told him that he had made contact with Theuma and agreed to meet with him at Busy Bee cafe in Msida. Il-Koħħu drove il-Fulu to that meeting. He waited outside and did not see Theuma.
'Cardona is all talk'
11am Koħħu recalls Jamie Vella telling him “Chris Cardona is all talk, he won’t follow through” [paroli biss għandu, ma jasalx].
He says David Gatt was frequently at the Marsa potato shed.
He also recalls mention of Michael Cassar (‘I was told he was an assistant commissioner’). He had asked Degiorgio about Cassar, but Degiorgio told him he knew no more. [Cassar served as police commissioner from late 2014 until April 2016].
Spying on Caruana Galizias in 2015
10.55am Jamie Vella knew where Daphne Caruana Galizia lived, Koħħu says, because he owned a farmhouse in the area. He (Koħħu) and George Degiorgio (who Koħħu refers to by his nickname, Iċ-Ċiniz) spent two days staking out the Caruana Galizia family home, but never saw her.
At one point, Degiorgio decided to approach the house to take a closer look. He saw an old, dirty BMW behind the gate and a sign warning people to beware of a dog.
The original plan was to stop Daphne Caruana Galizia as she drove out of her home and then have Jamie Vella shoot her, he says.
“But the deposit never arrived, iċ-Ċiniz was always arguing with David Gatt (a lawyer and former police officer who was close to Cardona) to get the money so we could get moving. The money didn’t come so we stopped going to Bidnija.”
To jog your memory
10.47am If you’re hazy on Il-Koħħu or his role in the murder or subsequent events, have a read of Jacob Borg’s profile of the convicted hitman.
Koħħu on the 2015 plot
10.45am The prosecution takes Koħħu back to 2015.
Koħħu says he would go down to the Marsa potato shed pretty much every day and knew George Degiorgio quite well. They would have a chat and cup of tea almost every day.
One day in 2015, Degiorgio told him about a job he had with Jamie Vella, who Koħħu says he did not know very well.
“He said he needed me to drive him to Portomaso in the afternoon, to meet with Chris Cardona. When I dropped him off, he told me he didn’t need me to pick him up, so I left.
“The next day he told me ‘We have to get rid of Daphne Caruana Galizia’. He told me that Chris Cardona wanted her gone and if we agreed on a price, ‘I (Degiorgio), you (Koħħu) and Jamie (Vella) will do it’.
“He told me that he was going to ask for €150,000 and that there were four people who wanted Daphne Caruana Galizia killed.”
Koħħu says the plan was to demand a €50,000 deposit. He does not know why these four people wanted Caruana Galizia killed.
A seated witness
10.35am Il-Koħħu will testify while seated. He is wearing a suit and eyeglasses.
Reminder: Koħħu is serving a 15-year jail sentence for his role in Caruana Galizia's murder.
Il-Koħħu testifies
10.30am The judge and jury are both back in the courtroom.
And we learn that Vince Muscat il-Koħħu, one of the murder hitmen, will now testify.
Police never asked to clone Schembri's phone
10am Jury members want to clarify why Bajada had to clone Daphne Caruana Galizia’s phone. He reiterates how her phone was totally destroyed in the blast.
They then ask why he did not clone Keith Schembri’s missing phone?
Bajada: The police did not ask me to.
The jury asks: Is there a time limit on the cloning process?
Bajada: 48 hours.
The judge calls a recess.
Cardona with the Degiorgio brothers
9.50am The defence asks Bajada if a photo of Cardona with the Degiorgio brothers during a pool party was taken before the murder.
He says he can’t quite remember the chronology.
The defence asks to suspend the sitting to present the full photo. It says the photo shown was cropped and the full, uncropped version includes a table.
Bajada says that is incorrect.
The defence reserves further cross-examination to a later stage.
Emails about Schembri and Cardona
9.40am Bajada confirms, under questioning, a chat found on one of Schembri’s phones.Ix-Xlukkajr (Cremona) texted Schembri “ejja minn hemm” [come on] and Schembri replied “Iva ta” [Yep].
He also confirms that he counted 269 emails in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s inbox about Keith Schembri and 273 about Chris Cardona.
Ir-Rukkell and Ix-Xlukkajr
9.25am Two of Keith Schembri’s phones were seized and analysed, Bajada says (neither is the one that went missing at 5am before police came knocking).
They contained phone numbers for both Johann Cremona and Kenneth Camilleri.
Defence lawyer Giannella de Marco indicates that Schembri had saved Camilleri’s number as “Ir-Rukkell” and Cremona’s as “Ix-Xlukkajr”. The witness, after checking the phone numbers listed under those names, confirms that.
IT expert to face cross-examination
9.10am The jury have taken their place.
Martin Bajada, the IT expert, is going to face cross-examination from the defence lawyers.
Inside the court room
9am Our court correspondent, Clara Farrugia, is inside Hall 22. Judge Edwina Grima has entered the court room. The session is about to start.
On Saturday, Clara and Mark Laurence Zammit wrapped up the more salient points of the second week of the trial.
Who are the main players?
8.45am Let's take a look at the key figures in this complex case.
Yorgen Fenech: a business tycoon and heir to a family fortune, and the man in the dock: Fenech is accused of complicity in Caruana Galizia's murder;
Melvin Theuma: a taxi driver who worked for Fenech and who has testified that he served as a middleman between Fenech and the alleged hitmen;
Vince Muscat, Alfred Degiorgio, George Degiorgio: the convicted hitmen;
Robert Agius, Jamie Vella: The suppliers of the bomb;
Keith Schembri: a friend of Fenech's and the chief of staff to Joseph Muscat when he was prime minister;
Edwina Grima: the presiding judge;
Keith Arnaud, Kurt Zahra: the lead police investigators and prosecutors;
Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella, and Danika Vella: the lawyers leading the Attorney General's office prosecution;
Giannella de Marco, Gianluca Caruana Curran, Charles Mercieca: Yorgen Fenech's legal team;
Jason Azzopardi, Therese Comodini Cachia: lawyers appearing for the Caruana Galizia family.
Read our Who's Who guide to the case.
Welcome
8.40am Good morning and welcome to this live blog. We're bringing you regular updates from the Valletta law courts, where this hugely significant trial resumes today.
Today's hearing is due to begin around 9am