Updated 8.45pm
Screws "possibly" from the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia were found lodged in the body of the car where the journalist was murdered, a jury was told on Monday.
The detail emerged in the testimony of two police constables who exhibited photos of the blown-up car and explained it took them three days to extract all the evidence from the Peugeot 108.
Clinton Vella and Darren Debattista, who formed part of the Scene of Crime Officers team, explained that on November 15, 2017, they went to the police compound in St Andrew’s to take samples from the vehicle.
The trial by jury of brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, better known as Ta’ Maksar, George Degiorgio (iċ-Ċiniż) and Jamie Vella entered its fourth day on Monday.
Degiorgio and Vella are accused of murdering lawyer Carmel Chircop and being in possession of weapons when the lawyer was shot dead in 2015. They are also accused of carrying weapons without a licence. The Agius brothers are accused of complicity in that murder.
Robert Agius and Jamie Vella are separately accused of complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder and being in possession of illegal explosives.
They are all denying the charges.
Degiorgio has already been tried separately in connection with the journalist’s assassination and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison, along with his brother, Alfred Degiorgio.
On Monday, the officer said the process of extracting evidence from the blown-up car took three days. The evidence was handed over to the court-appointed Exhibits Officer, Patrick Grech.
The SOCOs noted that the Dutch expert from the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) would identify material which seemed extraneous to the vehicle for further testing.
The jurors were shown images of the vehicle at the St Andrew’s compound, with the constables zooming in on the vehicle’s door and the car’s ceiling.
The forensic experts sifted through the material for possible foreign material which may have come from the blast.
On the vehicle, the found screws which were possibly part of the bomb, they explained.
The two constables were later joined by Police Sergeant Patrick Grech, who told the jurors that after the exhibits were collected and taken to the police’s forensic laboratory, the Dutch expert would indicate which exhibits probably need further testing.
Grech also explained the method adopted in sealing the evidence once samples were taken out.
During Monday’s afternoon session, the jurors heard more Scene of Crime Officers testify about their work on different locations including cars in Marsa belonging to George Degiorgio, a boat belonging to Alfred Degiorgio and another to his brother, a search in Żebbuġ garage and a property which belongs to Vella’s family in Mosta. The latter consists of a yard which is used to store machinery related to garbage collection, an “unihabitable” residence and a garage, which is on the other side of the Mosta valley.
At the Mosta property they found several bullets and weapons.
Defence lawyer Amadeus Cachia suggested that the property in question was leased from the government and had been in the possession of the Vella family for several years. However, the forensic expert could not confirm this since his work was solely related to seizing relevant objects which would later be brought as evidence.
The jurors also heard about different weapons seized in the Zebbuġ garage, saw photos of cash and bank cards and other relevant items found on site. Several boarding passes were found at the garage, as well as the passport, ID card and driver’s licence of Adrian Agius, who is not accused in Caruana Galizia’s murder case.
The SOCOs detailed how they carried out their work in the investigation related to Caruana Galizia’s murder and how the evidence was analysed and preserved.
The trial resumes on Tuesday morning.
Prosecutors Godwin Cini, Danika Vella and Anthony Vella are prosecuting on behalf of the AG Office.
Lawyer Nicholas Mifsud is assisting Adrian Agius.
Lawyers Ishmael Psaila and Amadeus Cachia are assisting Jamie Vella.
Lawyers Alfred Abela and René Darmanin are assisting Robert Agius.
Lawyers Noel Bianco and Leslie Cuschieri are assisting George Degiorgio.
Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia is assisting the Caruana Galizia family.
Lawyer Vince Galea is assisting the Chircop family.