Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said this morning that the FBI and Dutch experts are willing to assist the Maltese authorities in their investigation on the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia on Monday.
“Would like to also thank the USA for accepting to send FBI officials to assist the Malta police in the investigation of (Daphne Caruana Galizia) murder. We will leave no stone unturned. We will do whatever it takes to get to the persons behind this murder,” he wrote on the social media.
“Would like to thank the Netherlands government for accepting request to send specialised forensic experts from reknowned institution to assist the Malta police. First experts to assist in the (Daphne Caruana Galizia) murder investigations in the next few hours.”
Investigations in the meantime continue at the site where journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered yesterday afternoon.
A tent has been set up in a field just a few metres from the residence of Caruana Galizia, shielding the charred rental car she was driving when the murder took place. The controversial journalist left home in a rented car to run some errands when a bomb went off close to her home.
Nearby, a white protective sheet is covering up part of the dismembered body, while a similar sheet can be seen in the middle of the road next to the field.
Members of the forensic team could be seen putting on their gear, however it is unclear whether they form part of a foreign investigative team or a local team.
Today, police have prevented the press from being stationed close to the incident as it did yesterday. The street has been blocked off from both sides and is likely to remain that way until foreign forensic teams sweep the area.
Reactions from Bidnija community
In the Bidnija village square, just a short drive away from the scene of the brutal crime, the atmosphere is still, with hardly anyone in sight. The main road from Mosta is closed off to the public, making the village square at the top of the winding road even more silent, with less cars passing through.
As a woman recalled how she was out when the incident happened, and came back to the village to hear the devestating news, another shopkeeper in the vicinity recalls how he did not hear any noise yesterday, when the explosion happened, despite being located nearby. Instead, the news was brought to him by a customer who had just driven past the vehicle up in flames. It was yet another customer who brought in the news that there was somebody in the car and the victim was Daphne Caruana Galizia.
"I have known Daphne ever since she moved to the town, and watched her children grow up," he told this newspaper, his tone becoming more sombre. He described the incident as "maccabre" and expressed that he was affected by what happened.
Another Bidnija resident, who stated that he "knew the family well," expressed his sorrow at the situation and said that Caruana Galizia was "intrusive" with her blog, however "she could have been just doing her job," he pondered.