A Dutch expert, a member of the Netherlands Forensic Institute who flew to Malta the day after the car bombing that killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, told the Court today that the victim's body was found to be missing its right leg and foot.
Brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat are charged with the murder of the journalist on 16 October last year. They were arrested on 4 December in Marsa.
The expert, one of four from the Netherlands Forensic Institute, said that the body of the victim was so severely burnt that it was not possible to carry out tests for explosives.
The right leg was on the side of the road, and since it was not so badly burnt the experts managed to take some explosive residue samples.
Samples were also removed from the crater caused by the blast, the expert said.
The expert confirmed that the bomb had been placed under the driver's seat and that the car showed signs of the explosion having been inside it, as the frame of the car bulged outwards.
The expert testified that the Maltese police asked for assistance at around 5pm on 16 October, two hours after the murder. The experts advised the Maltese police to preserve the crime scene as much as possible by cordoning off the area, and were told to ensure that no remains were touched.
The experts were appointed by magistrate Anthony Vella, who had been assigned to carry out the inquiry (until he was promoted to judge last week) and were assigned to work alongside the Dutch Europol team, the police forensic experts and the Army's explosive division. They drew up an investigation plan with the Malta police, dividing the area of the murder up into a grid.
As they worked, any items that had DNA on them and personal belongings were flagged, while smaller unidentified objects were collected in separate evidence bags. All the evidence was handed over to the police, the expert said.
At the end of the sitting, the defence again asked for bail, with magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit saying she will give her decree in the coming days.