Self-confessed murder middleman Melvin Theuma feared Yorgen Fenech was trying to poison him after Daphne Caruana Galizia was executed in 2017.
Testifying in court on Friday, Theuma said he had thrown away a bottle of wine as well as a joint of meat that the businessman had given to him in the months after the murder.
The man who was given a state pardon in 2019 to reveal all about the murder said he knew that he was the only one who could expose Fenech's involvement with the assassination of the journalist.
Last September, Times of Malta reported that US investigators traced online searches for a deadly poison back to a device owned by Fenech.
The searches were made on what is known as the dark web, a part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and is considered a hotbed of criminal activity.
Theuma also reiterated that at one point he contemplated taking his own life because he could not live with the guilt, but the mental image of Fenech “sitting cross-legged with a cigar in his mouth” after getting away with murder stopped him from doing so.
He also refused an invitation from Fenech to fly to France to watch horse racing and said the businessman was "really angry" to be turned down.
The former taxi driver was back in court on Friday for the second time in a week after a July 2020 stabbing incident at home which police believe was a suicide attempt. He was testifying in the compilation of evidence against the three men charged with detonating the device which killed Caruana Galizia in 2017.
In the last sitting on Wednesday, Theuma said that Fenech told then OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri that he had “no other way” but to kill the journalist.
Fenech says Schembri was behind the murder, a claim the former right-hand man of the prime minister denies.
Friday's court case was again dictated by legal arguments over what defence lawyers say are missing recordings taken by Theuma before his arrest.
As it happened
Case adjourned
3.30pm And that's it from today's compilation.
We'll be back with a short wrap-up shortly.
Theuma escorted out
3.20pm It seems there will be no more questions for the murder middleman today. He is escorted out.
While the discussion about the recordings continues, Cuschieri says his clients have no other way of getting the information.
But there is one difficulty. The magistrate says she cannot order transcripts at this stage when the files are not accessible. The expert must first access those files and only then can the court order their transcripts.
Murder suspect Alfred Degiorgio stands up to say something to his lawyer.
Lawyer wants access to recordings
3.15pm Meanwhile, Arnaud explains that he has verified that the eight tapes are the same ones that proved difficult to access in the Feench case.
"They are here, it’s just a matter of being accessed."
Lawyer Cuschieri steps in: "So these recordings have not even been transcribed."
Arnaud: "But they are accessible. It’s just a matter of software to be used."
Cuschieri says he has no access even though he knows about these recordings.
Contemplated suicide
3.08pm Theuma raises his voice in the court room: "Who could hinder Yorgen? Only Melvin Theuma could have done that. Because I had the recordings."
He goes on: "Let me tell you this. Once I was so depressed that I was about to jump off the roof. But then I thought if I do that, Yorgen Fenech will sit casually, cigar in mouth, legs crossed. And I didn’t do it."
Fear of poisoned wine
3.05pm Azzopardi asks about a specific piece in the recordings: "We've completed it, they've done it to her and that's it... did anything else happen? (“Aħna lestejniha, għamluhielha u mbagħad daqshekk....kien hemm xi caqliq?”)
In a hoarse voice, Theuma replies: "I said that to Yorgen. They placed the bomb and then nothing else. I was afraid in the first few days after the bomb, but then he had assured me and that was it."
He refers to a reference to meat that Fenech had given to him that he threw away, fearing it could have been poisoned. He said the businessman also gave him a bottle of wine which he also threw away.
Fenech went on to buy him an air ticket to France to watch horse racing but he declined the invitation.
"He was really angry."
All recordings presented
2.55pm Arnaud says that all recordings from the original box that Theuma had been carrying upon his arrest in November 2019 have been handed to the defence. It includes those eight files.
"I can assure you that all tapes in Melvin’s possession at the time of his arrest have been presented in the records of this case," Arnaud clarifies.
Parte civile lawyer Jason Azzopardi wants to cross examine Theuma.
The missing files
2.50pm There seems to be the same problem we had encountered in the other compilation [invovling Yorgen Fenech] with 'hidden' files.
The magistrate and technical officer go through the list, confirming which files could not be accessed.
Magistrate says that since she is bound by a time limit, she will have to send the case back to the criminal court.
She says there’s a problem: "I wish I could help you but the court expert is not answering our calls. We’ve sent him an email and also tried calling but there's no answer yet."
But the magistrate finally receives a reply from the IT expert who says that the files are related to partly-recovered data.
Defence lawyer William Cuschieri says the problem is whether the prosecution is "faithful".
Arnaud raises an objection to this comment.
"Not you, personally, but the prosecution," the lawyer clarifies.
'Technical' problems
2.30pm Galea Farrugia from the AG's office challenges Sant to explain where he got the pen drive.
The magistrate says the court is using a device, given by an expert, to ensure that the drive is not tampered with.
Sant gives the number of another audio file. As the court’s technical expert looks up the relevant file on their drive... apparently this one cannot be opened.
As we wait, the Degiorgio brothers are seen mumbling and grumbling. Their lawyer turns on his seat to address them, explaining the situation. Alfred Degiorgio stands up and has a word with the lawyer.
'I think you're lying'
2.20pm We are hearing one of the secret recordings. There's the usual background noise and then Fenech's gruff voice joins in.
Theuma says the recording featured him and Fenech at a farmhouse after the October 2017 crime when Il-Koħħu started speaking about the crime after he was arrested in an attempt to get a pardon.
"I think you're lying," Sant challenges Theuma.
He says the file was created on December 17, 2017, just two weeks after the alleged hitmen were arrested.
"You were recording earlier and then panicked when Vince Muscat began to spill the beans!"
An argument breaks out. Inspector Arnaud objects, saying Theuma did remember but his answer did not tally with what Sant wished for.
Sant says the file was sent to him by an expert via court.
Theuma takes witness stand
2.15pm Muscat's defence lawyer Marc Sant tells the magistrate that there were some recordings (files) he could not open/access.
He wants to ask questions about the recordings played out in court last Wednesday.
Theuma is called in and takes the witness stand.
Suspects escorted in
2.10pm Suspect Vince Muscat (Il-Koħħu) comes in through the door at the back of the hall, escorted by two armed guards. He immediately goes into the dock and leans over the wooden structure to have a word with his lawyer who is seated right in front of the dock. He is wearing dark spectacles.
The Degiorgio brothers are also brought in.
Magistrate Claire Zammit Stafrace takes her place.
The three murder suspects.Welcome back
2pm We're back in hall 22 waiting for Theuma to continue his testimony.
Theuma, who was given a state pardon to reveal all, is closely guarded by three plainclothes officers. Lawyers and family members, including Caruana Galizia's sisters, take their place.
Who are the main players?
Yorgen Fenech: the businessman charged with being the mastermind behind the murder;
Melvin Theuma: the self-confessed middleman in the murder;
Vince Muscat, Alfred Degiorgio, George Degiorgio: the alleged hitmen;
Keith Schembri: the OPM's former chief of staff;
Lawrence Cutajar: the former police commissioner;
Keith Arnaud, Kurt Zahra: the lead police investigators;
Kenneth Camilleri: a member of Joseph Muscat's security detail;
Johann Cremona: a business associate of Yorgen Fenech's.
Edwin Brincat (Il-Ġojja): a friend of Lawrence Cutajar and Melvin Theuma;
Gianluca Caruana Curran, Marion Camilleri, Charles Mercieca: the lawyers appearing on Fenech’s behalf;
Marc Sant, William Cuschieri: the lawyers representing Vince Muscat and the Degiorgio brothers respectively.
Jason Azzopardi, Therese Comodini Cachia: the lawyers appearing for the Caruana Galizia family.
Philip Galea Farrugia: representing the AG’s office and assisting the prosecution.