The Maksar brothers, Robert and Adrian Agius, wanted to get rid of lawyer Carmel Chircop, Vince Muscat, known as il-Kohhu, testified in court on Friday.
Muscat was testifying in the ongoing trial of the four men accused of murdering lawyer Carmel Chircop and journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Muscat had pleaded guilty in 2021 to his role in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. On the same day, he was granted a presidential pardon in exchange for full disclosure about the Chircop case.
Adrian Agius stands accused of commissioning the murder of Carmel Chircop, with his brother Robert Agius, Jamie Vella, and George Degiorgio accused of complicity in the killing.
All four men deny the charges. Robert Agius and Degiorgio are also accused of involvement in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
On Friday the prosecution began by questioning Vincent Muscat about the murder of Carmel Chircop, urging him to provide precise and detailed answers. When asked about his earliest recollections of the crime, Muscat said:
"In September 2015, I went to the potato shed in Marsa around 9am, as I did every day. George Degiorgio told me that the Maksar brothers would be coming by. He explained why they wanted Carmel Chircop dead. About an hour later, the brothers arrived, and we began discussing the plan. Money came up. They were going to pay me €20,000."
Muscat stated that the team involved in the planned hit consisted of himself, George Degiorgio, and Jamie Vella. As for the motive, Muscat said it was linked to an unpaid loan of nearly €800,000 that Chircop had issued, as well as a high-value villa owned by one of the Maksar brothers.
A couple of days or weeks before the murder, Muscat said he went with Adrian Agius brothers to spy on Chircop at the Birgu waterfront while he was out having dinner with his wife.
Another time, Muscat, Adrian Agius and either George Degiorgio or Adrian Agius were dining at a cafeteria in Naxxar. Carmel Chircop was at a cafeteria nearby, but at one point he left the establishment to take a call. The aim of these outings was to spy on Chircop and get an idea of his movements.
Spying on Chircop
At the start of the plan to kill Chircop, Muscat had gone with his car by himself to spy on Chircop at his home. He parked near the McDonald's outlet in Birkirkara. From the car, he was able to see the front door of Chircop's home. He spent around an hour there. After this, George Degiorgio told him there's no need to continue, and instead he went himself with Robert Agius.
Muscat then described where Chircop's garage was located within the complex.
According to Muscat, Robert Agius and George Degiorgio found Chircop's garage during one of the surveillance outings.
One day, at 5am, Muscat was joined by Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio and drove to the garage complex using a stolen car. They did this to try and identify which garage in the complex belonged to Carmel Chircop. Jamie Vella left the car to spy on Chircop, while Muscat and Degiorgio remained in the car but kept out of sight. This is how they managed to identify which garage belonged to Chircop.
Asked about the murder plan, Muscat said the idea was to shoot at Chircop early in the morning before work. According to the plan, Jamie Vella was to shoot Chircop, while George Degiorgio would drive the stolen car. Vince Muscat would remain in the back seat.
Before the murder was to take place, Muscat and the team explored the area to plan an escape route. On the day of the murder, they planned the exact route and drove through in advance to make sure no roads were closed.
Muscat testified that Adrian Agius was particularly keen to get the murder over and done with. Strictly speaking, the Maksar brothers did not need to be informed of the murder plan, according to Muscat. All that mattered was that they pay for the murder.
Asked why that specific method was chosen for the murder, Muscat thinks it was George Degiorgio or Jamie Vella. As to why Jamie Vella was to pull the trigger, Muscat says only he had the guts the shoot. "He's capable of shooting," he said. ("Kapaċi jispara").
Before he started his testimony, the presiding judge reminded Muscat that he is legally obligated to tell the full truth about the murder of Carmel Chircop, or he risks losing the protection of his presidential pardon.
Access to Santa Venera garage
According to Muscat everyone had access to this garage in Santa Venera - everyone meaning himself, George Degiorgio, Jamie Vella, and even Robert Agius.
It was George Degiorgio who used to pay rent on the garage to Lawrence Pace, known is il-Lolly. The money, €300, would be paid every six months. The Degiorgio brother would give Muscat the money in cash, and Muscat would pay it to Pace. Muscat says he knew Pace for a while.
One time, Muscat had gone with Degiorgio to pay the rent money. When they arrived, Muscat remarked to Degiorgio that the area is covered by CCTV.
Asked about the preparations for the murder, specifically the weapon used to kill Carmel Chircop, Muscat says they were going to keep three weapons: a revolver, an automatic pistol, and an AK47 in case things go awry.
The weapon of choice for Jamie Vella, according to Muscat, was the revolver. George Degiorgio kept the automatic pistol nearby as a backup plan. The AK47 was going to be kept on the floor of the back seat of the car.
According to Muscat, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius brought the weapons to Malta from Sicily, via the catamaran. Muscat would hear Jamie Vella and Robert Agius talking about this while at the potato shed.
Day of the murder
Asked about the day of the murder, 8 October, 2015, Muscat told the court he doesn't remember if this day was chosen for any particular reason.
He said he drove with his own car to pick up George Degiorgio from Marsa, and then they went to pick up Jamie Vella from Santa Venera. A day earlier, Muscat and George Degiorgio gave Jamie Vella some shoes and clothing items for everyone to wear after the murder, Muscat said.
They then went to pick up the stolen car. The weapons of choice were already in the car. Muscat left his own car in the garage and the three used the stolen vehicle to carry out the hit. George Degiorgio drove the stolen car while Vince Muscat sat in the back seat, on the passenger's side. Jamie Vella sat near Muscat, right behind Degiorgio, Muscat tells the court.
Muscat and Vella wore black balaclavas, while George Degiorgio wore a cap and bandana covering half his face.
Muscat said that once they wore their cover-ups, they drove through the escape route to make sure the roads were fine, and assumed position close to the garage. Jamie Vella left the car and stood by a nearby window structure, while Muscat and Degiorgio remained in the car, with the engine switched on.
Vella was able to see the public road from his position, and so could see when Chircop was approaching the complex, Muscat said. From his position in the car, Muscat said he could also see Chircop entering the complex. When Vella saw Chircop walking towards the complex, he notified Degiorgio and Muscat.
Chircop walked to the entrance of his garage door and placed his work bag on the floor as he started to open up the garage. This is when Jamie Vella shot at Chircop. "This all happened in a few minutes."
Muscat says his last memory of Chircop was him opening the garage door and entering it, and then Vella shooting at him.
Muscat said that once the hit was carried out, they escaped the scene. Muscat said that on the route they accidentally drove through a road with CCTV coverage, where Muscat recalls telling Degiorgio to put down his sun visor so the cameras do not catch his face.
They returned to the garage in Santa Venera, and Vella and Degiorgio hid the revolver somewhere nearby. They didn’t want to leave it in the garage just in case the police trace the car back to it. Muscat isn’t sure which out of Degiorgio and Vella hid the murder weapon.
Muscat then drove them to Vella’s flat, which was not far off.
Payment
Muscat said that he, Degiorgio and Vella agreed between themselves that they would be paid that €20,000 by the Maksar brothers. €5,000 was to be paid prior to the murder. Muscat said that the money was given to Degiorgio, who then proceeded to divide it between them. The court heard that Degiorgio gave Muscat the first €5,000 in September, and that another €10,000 was given to Muscat by Degiorgio a few days following the murder.
The court heard that Degiorgio then called Muscat and told him Robert Agius would pass him the last €5,000, and that this happened a day after the call.
Muscat said Degiorgio told him he wasn't going to ask the Maksar brothers for payment.
Later, sometime after the murder, Degiorgio, Muscat and others were dining in Ta' Xbiex, when Degiorgio spotted the Maya, a boat, for sale. The court heard that Degiorgio called the Maksar brothers asking for €30,000 to purchase the boat. Muscat noticed he was angry and that Degiorgio was telling him to hurry and bring the funds.
Robert Agius appeared after a while, the court heard, but Muscat said he was not there for the rest of the situation.
Daphne Caruana Galizia murder
When the court session resumed after lunch-break, Muscat was asked about the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017. Muscat said that between 2014 and 2015, at a time when Muscat would go to the potato shed in Marsa, George Degiorgio had said that someone wants to "get rid" of the journalist.
Degiorgio would always mention Chris Cardona, who was Economy Minister at the time. They had agreed on a sum of money of €150,000, and one time Muscat and Degiorgio went to Bidnija to follow Caruana Galizia's movements. At one point, Degiorgio had told Muscat that he needed to meet Chris Cardona.
He says he had agreed to the price tag with George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella. It was the three of them who were going to carry out the murder plan.
Muscat said lawyer David Gatt served as the go-between. Gatt used to be at the potato shed, Muscat testifies.
Muscat testified that Jamie Vella already knew where Caruana Galizia lived.
After three days of surveillance on her house, Muscat and Degiorgio had decided to take a closer look. They went close to the gate leading to the residence, where they found a BMW car, but quickly left.
At the time, the plan was to shoot Caruana Galizia dead, Muscat said. As she would drive down the road, Degiorgio would block her path using a car while Jamie Vella shoots at her with an AK47, Muscat continued.#.
At one point during this period, Muscat took George Degiorgio to Portomaso by car. Degiorgio had told Muscat that he wanted to go there to speak to Chris Cardona. Muscat insisted in court that this is Degiorgio's version of events. He had never seen Cardona meet with Degiorgio.
This plan fell through, and the deposit for the murder was never paid. George Degiorgio was supposed to be liaising with lawyer David Gatt about the payment, but no money was passed to the killers for this plan.
Later, in May 2017, Muscat went to the potato shed and Alfred Degiorgio, George's brother who is not accused in these proceedings, told Muscat that Melvin Theuma came by with an assignment ("biċċa xogħol") - to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia.
For this, the Degiorgio brothers and Vincent Muscat decided on a €150,000 price tag, including a €30,000 deposit.
On hold because of the election
The court heard that Melvin Theuma had told them to put the plan on hold, and that year an election took place in June.
When the election passed, Alfred Degiorgio met Theuma and said he picked up the €30,000 deposit, the court heard. Vince Muscat and the two brothers took €10,000 each, it was said, and following this, Alfred Degiorgio and Mucat began surveillance on the journalist.
The court heard that at the time of the earlier plan, Degiorgio had been in prison, but was released prior to the 2017 plan.
Three surveillance points across Bidnija and Mosta were identified that allowed them to keep an eye on the journalist, the court heard.
He said that most surveillance work was carried out by Muscat and George Degiorgio, but that he and both Degiorgios kept cheap mobile phones for communication.
In terms of vehicle, it was said that Alfred Degiorgio knew someone they could rent a vehicle from.
Stickers that were on the car were removed so that It couldn't be identified.
One surveillance point allowed them to get close to Caruana Galizia's house the court heard, even seeing the journalist at her laptop inside.
One option was killing her with a long rifle, the court heard.
On one day at the potato shed, Alfred Degiorgio told them that Robert Agius and Jamie Vella had gotten some weapons for carrying out the murder, the court was told.
At a later time, Alfred Degiorgio and Muscat visited a Naxxar garage used by Vella and Agius to look at three rifles. Agius and Vella were not there, the court heard.
The plan was for Degiorgio to shoot her through a window using a rifle, but this fell through, and Degiorgio said he would rather use a bomb, the court heard.
Muscat details how one of the Degiorgio brothers had the idea of speaking to Chris Cardona again to see if he knew anything about Caruana Galizia’s movements. He mentioned Toni ‘l-iblaħ’, Cardona’s driver, and says that Alfred Degiorgio met the former minister through this man.
Muscat says that he was told by Degiorgio that Cardona had messaged someone during the encounter – who Degiorgio thought was Silvio Valletta – and told him that there’s another group quoting €150,000 to kill the journalist.
Muscat recounts how the three men followed Caruana Galizia to the airport when they caught wind that she was about to travel. They initially thought that she was leaving the island for good, but it turned out that she had been travelling to attend one of her sons’ wedding.
Change of plan
They eventually changed the plan and decided to carry out the murder with a bomb. Jamie Vella and Robert Agius gave them a selection of three bombs to choose from. Muscat testified the bombs were brought from Sicily through the catamaran. One of these bombs was the one used to kill Caruana Galizia.
The Degiorgios wanted the bomb to be strong enough to ensure that the plan goes through without any hiccups, Muscat said.
He recalled hearing George Degiorgio say the bomb had between 300-500g of blasting gelatin.
Degiorgio had told Muscat that Robert Agius or Jamie Vella would place the bomb under a boat turned upside down in the Marsa potato shed.
However, the first time Muscat saw the bomb was in the Naxxar garage used by Jamie Vella and Robert Agius.
Muscat tells the court the bomb was roughly two inches by four and made of stainless steel, with wires and an on-off switch. It also had a battery, which the Degiorgio brothers were concerned about, as it might lose charge, he said.