Melvin Theuma, the man who was granted immunity to provide details on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, said in court today that Yorgen Fenech, the man accused with complicity to organising the murder, had informed him about a "big" raid that the police were to make. He was referring to the 4 December 2017 raid in which the murder suspects were arrested.
Fenech informed him of this raid the Thursday before it happened and Theuma relayed the message to Alfred Degiorgio.
But the date that was given was wrong, as Fenech had indicated the 5th of December, when the raid had taken place a day earlier.
Theuma said that he was scared that he would be next on the list, and had drawn up a will the day after the raid was carried out in Marsa.
Testifying in court today, Theuma spoke about the way he contacted Alfred Degiorgio to carry out the murder after being given the go-ahead by Yorgen Fenech.
He said that he did not receive "one cent" for the murder, and, in some cases, even used his own money to keep the suspects quiet. He said he never told the suspects who was behind the idea to kill the journalist.
He said that he had been with Alfred Degiorgio to the lookout point at Bidnija.
This is a minute by minute rendering of the sitting
12.27pm: The sitting has been adjourned to 12 December at 9.30am.
12.10pm: Lawyers are discussing evidence because copies of the recordings have not been done yet. There is a debate on whether the sitting should continue because this party of the testimony refers to the same recordings. The magistrate gets angry, saying the all evidence should be ready at this point. All parties approach the bench so that the media cannot hear what is being said.
12.03pm: Theuma is not sure if he included a copy of the photo of Keith and himself at Castille in the envelope he gave to Yorgen. He said he was ready to mail similar items to the "stamperija" and everything would be revealed. He did this because he was scared they would kill him or put him in jail. He says he mentioned Schembri in the letter because Schembri was Fenech's friend and because of Kenneth, who worked at OPM.
12.02pm: He put three segments of three recordings on a pen drive, and a letter, put them in an envelope and gave them to Yorgen. Theuma said he did not think Yorgen believed that Theuma had recordings, and so he gave him proof. The recordings included the sound of Yorgen's wife and children as they used to have conversations while they were present. Melvin used to use a mobile phone to record. The recordings were made at Level 22 in Portomaso and Fenech's Zebbug home.
12.01pm: Theuma said that he was scared that Keith Schembri and Yorgen Fenech were plotting to kill him, so he started recording Yorgen. The recordings have been passed on to the magistrate and Theuma said he had no other recordings.
Former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri
11.59am: He said he started recording conversations with Yorgen after he was told Muscat was speaking. Yorgen used to mention Keith Schembri as his friend a lot, Theuma says.
11.57am: Fenech told Melvin not to be scared of the people outside, but of those inside because they were the ones who knew his name and involvement. Theuma said that he had never mentioned Yorgen Fenech's name and so the only name they could reveal was his. During the same conversation, Theuma confronted Fenech about Kenneth and asked him if he had been Schembri who sent him. Fenech did not reply. "I told him that, if it was Keith I would take Mario Degiorgio right behind his front door in Mellieha."
11.56am: Theuma says the bomb that blew up Carauna Galizia was manufactured at Maksar. Maksar is the family nickname of Adrian and Robert Agius, two men who had been arrested in December 2017 in connection with the murder but released.
11.53am: Theuma said got a call from a man called Johann, and he (Johann) and a certain Kenneth came to meet him. Theuma assumed that Yorgen Fenech sent them to meet him. Or else it could have been Keith Schembri, because Kenneth worked at Castille, Theuma said. Kenneth told him that the Degiorgios were going to be released on a €1 million bail on the 22nd. During this meeting, Kenneth made a phone call and Theuma suspected he was speaking to Keith Schembri.
11.50am: Some time later Yorgen called him to meet at his farm. Yorgen told him we have a problem as Vincent is saying everything. Yorgen told him buy four pizzas and pay by cash and give it to Mario to pass on the message to the Degiorgios that Vincent is talking. Theuma then had a fight with Yorgen because he told him "we were friends, how could you get me involved in this?"
Yorgen Fenech, accused of complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia
11.47am: Theuma said he did not get "one cent" for the killing. He said he lost money on it. Melvin is saying he was drawn to Yorgen at the beginning as he used to take him abroad with him. "Later I realised I made a mistake," he said. "My life after the killing was bad," he said. At one point he had gone on the roof with the intention of jumping off. 'I had had enough of my life," he said.
11.46am: Yorgen used to give money to Theuma to pass on to the Degiorgios and their family. George Degiorgio wanted €55k or €60k for the pledge. He said the money would be sent abroad to Alfred Degiorgio's partner's account abroad. The requests were always made through Mario Degiorgio. Fenech gave them the €60k.
11.45am: Yorgen used to attend drug rehabilitation programs a lot. A week before the raid he was in rehabilitation in Scotland, Theuma says. Durign that time, the Degiorgios asked for €20k and Theuma had to fork out the money himself.
11.42am: There were more requests for money from the Degiorgios, and everytime Theuma would go to Fenech, who would provide the money. Melvin gave €5,000 to Mario to buy a dog and other money was exchange to cover legal expenses.
11.38am: A certain 'il-Gamblu' called Theuma to arrange a phone call with Alfred Degiorgio, because the suspects needed €30k for lawyer. Melvin met with Yorgen to ask him for the money, but Fenech gave him €25k. Theuma thought he Fenech had deducted the amount he had given him for the holiday. Melvin met with Mario Degiorgio (the third brother).
The three men accused of the murder: Alfred Degiorgio, George Degiorgio and Vince Muscat
11.36am: Theuma said Yorgen never threatened him, but he thought that if Fenech had gone as far as ordering the killing of Daphne nothing would stop him from doing the same to him.
11.35am: A month after the raid, Theuma went to a notary to draw up a will because he thought he was next on the list. He went on a downward spiral, taking to drinking, and Yorgen gave him €5,000 to go on holiday with his family.
11.34am: 'Il-Lolly' would give Theuma receipts, which he then showed to Yorgen Fenech. Fenech did not say anything, and Theuma felt a bit annoyed at this.
11.30am: The raid took place and the suspects were arrested. He started to give them €300 a week between them to keep quiet. Theuma would give the money to 'il-Lolly', who would then give it to Muscat's daughter and the other Degiorgio brother. He was paying them out of his own pocked. He said he was scared they would mention his name.
11.25am: Melvin said Yorgen told him that there will be a "big" police raid around 5 December. Theuma tells the court that Feneh warned him about the raid the Thursday before. Melvin and Alfred passed on a coded message to each other though a certain 'il-Lolly.'
11.22am: Alfred Degiorgio asked Theuma to get another €5,000 for expenses, such as binoculars and rental cars. Theuma paid €5,000 from his own pocket and Alfred Degiorgio asked him why there were a lot of €20 notes. "I gave him €125,000. That's the €120,000 balance plus the additional €5,000 that Degiorgio wanted."
11.21: Theuma met Fenech at the Zebbug farmhous two weeks after the murder. Fenech told him that trouble was brewing because the police had the SMS that set the bomb off. Theuma told Alfred Degiorgio about this, but the latter told him not to worry.
11.20am: Melvin was heavily grilled about whether he knew anyone else who wanted her killed. The defense objected to this line of questioning.
11.16am: Theuma said that he was very scared after the murder had taken place. The next day, he met with Yorgen at Portomaso, telling him he was scared. Fenech told him the Maltese police would be investigating it. Theuma said no one else told him to kill Daphne. He does not know anyone else who wanted to kill her. "As far as I'm concerned, the mastermind was Yorgen because he was the one who paid me," Theuma says.
11.15am: Theuma says Alfred called him once and told him that he was planning to kill Daphne but had to abort because of an unexpected police roadblock. Theuma said he did not know the date when Daphne would be killed. But 5 to 6 days before it happened, the mobile phone he used to call Alfred was unreachable. Melvin said Yorgen was constantly calling him telling him to tell Alfred to do it because it would be useless if the killing is done after the information came out.
11.12am: Another time Alfred took Melvin in Vincent Muscat’s car to the place overlooking the house where Daphne lived. Melvin said this was done to show him that he was doing his job. He described the location of the lookout Alfred was using as he was surveilling Daphne. Although they used Muscat's car, the latter he was not present. The lookout was not close and binoculars were used. Alfred told Melvin he used to spend days surveiling Daphne.
Matthew Caruana Galizia, Daphne's son, and lawyer Jason Azzopardi
11.11am: Melvin spoke to George Degiorgio, who told him “mietu daqs dawk bulljiet ma tmutx din?”. George told him not to say anything about the plan to Darren Debono 'it-Topo'. Vince Muscat was not around when these conversations took place. Theuma asked Yorgen where Daphne used be and the latter mentioned two cafes and a restaurant in Rabat. Theuma passed on this information to Alfred Degiorgio. Alfred gave him a mobile phone which was to be used only for conversations between them. But his son played with the phone and called Melvin's partner by mistake. One time, Melvin took this mobile with him abroad and used it to call Alfred, telling him to hurry because Fenech was asking.
11.09am: Theuma told Alfred Degiorgio to hurry but Alfred told him he needs his time. Melvin insisted he never told Alfred who was telling him to kill Daphne. Fenech told Melvin to tell Alfred to make sure that the same thing like Romeo Bone does not happen. Romeo bone lost his legs in a bomb but survived.
11.07am: The safety deposit box was at BOV of Marsa. From that time onwards Fenech kept on calling constantly telling him to tell them to hurry up and kill her because the information was going to come out. Theuma began to suspect that this was not about Fenech's uncle, but about Fenech himself.
11.03am: Theuma then met Alfred Degiorgio at Busy Bee and told him he has the go ahead. Melvin counted out the €30k for Alfred and he kept the rest. He is not sure if he kept them in safety deposit box or at home.
11.04am: Two weeks later, Theuma took Fenech to the airport and Fenech gave him the money to give to Alfred Degiorgio. The money was given to Theuma by Fenech in a brown envelope. It was the full €150k. He told Theuma that the plan was back on.
11.02am: Theuma met Fenech to give him the money of the winnings and Fenech didn’t mention anything about the murder.
11am: After the election Yorgen Fenech called him to go ahead with the plan to assassinate Caruana Galizia but, since Fenech had been drinking, Theuma did not give much notice. This was on the Sunday when the election result was known.
10.58am: The witness gambled money for Yorgen Fenech on the margin by which Labour would win election. He received a commission of €7,500.
10.56am: Theuma met Alfred Degiorgio and told him to stop everything. He was embarassad about this and gave Degiorgio €1,500 euros "to save face." Degiorgio told Theuma he hoped the mastermind would not get someone else for the job.
10.54am: The election was called. Yorgen Fenech told Theuma "to stop everything over there", but Theuma replied that he had nothing to stop because the go-ahead had not been given.
10.52am: Theuma said that he never went to work with the government but he started receiving three or four monthly cheques. He did not know where he was supposed to be working.
10.51am: The next day, he went to the ministry and met with someone called Tony Muscat or Sammut.
10.50am: Asked if he knew Schembri from beforehand, Theuma said that he had met him once at a meal in Yorgen Fenech's farmhouse in Zebbug. There were a lot of peoeple present. They only shook hands. He had met Schmembri just twice - at the farmhouse and in Castille.
10.48am: Two days later Fenech informed Theuma that he would be receiving a call from Sandro Craus from Castille. Craus called him telling him he would meet Keith Schembri. He went there and did not know from where to go in. He called Craus, asking him what to do. He was met by Schembri, and the two shook hands and took a photo together. Theuma was informed by Craus that he was to be given a job at the "ministry opposite the old theatre."
10.45am: Two days later Theuma and Alfred Degiorgio met at Busy Bee. Degiorgio demanded €150,000, €30,000 of which needed to be paid upfront. Theuma had spoken to Fenech and the deal was done. He says he never mentioned Fenech's name to the suspects. He then went back to Fenech on the same day, telling him the details of what the suspects were requesting.
10.43am: Fenech asked him if he knew Alfred Degiorgio. Theuma said no. He says Fenech told him to find Degiorgio “because I want to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia”. He said Fenech said that she was going to publish information about his uncle, Ray. Theuma says he got Degiorgio's number from Darren Debono 'it-Topo' and called him to set up a meeting. They met the following day at the potato shed in Marsa, and Theuma told Degiorgio that a man wanted to kill Caruana Galizia. He says Degiorgio asked whether this man would pay up.
10.41am: Theuma says that one night he finished work and went home and received a call from Yorgen Fenech. This was some two or three weeks before the 2017 election was called. Fenech told Theuma to meet him outside the Blue Elephant restaurant. They met outside.
Inspector Keith Arnaud
10.40am: Theuma said that Yorgen Fenech allowed him to operate his taxi at the Hilton. Not everybody can do that, Theuma said. This was around five years ago.
10.38am: Yorgen used to pay everything for Melvin when they went abroad, including meals. He was so close to Yorgen that when his (Yorgen's) father died, Theuma "drove him there." He was first friends with Ray Fenech, Yorgen's uncle. He got to know Yorgen because Fenech used to bet on horses and Melvin was a bookmaker. Theuma rented Fenech a shop in Qormi.
10.37am: He says he was Yorgen Fenech's friend and went abroad with him. They were in France together. While they were there, Fenech told Theuma that he (Fenech) had been recorded.
10.36am: Inspector Arnaud asks Theuma whether he knows the accused, and Theuma replies that he knows one of the brothers (Alfred), and Muscat. Asked again if he knows them all, Theuma said yes. He says that a man named Darren Debono and Alfred Degiorgio once asked him to rent a flat.
10.35am: Theuma takes the stand. The magistrate warns him that he must abide by the conditions of the presidential pardon and say the truth and nothing but the truth. If he doesn't, steps will be taken to withdraw the pardon.
10.34am: For the presecution, Philip Galea Farrugia, from the AG's office, says this does not prohibit the testimony from taking place.
Peter Caruana Galizia, Daphne's husband
10.33am: Lawyer william Cuschieri, for the Degiorgio brothers, says that legal proceeedigns have been initiated by the Degiorgio brothers to prohibit Theuma from testifying and to counter the pardon given to him.
10.32am: Inspector Keith Arnaud informs the court that Melvin Theuma has been granted immunity to testify by presidential decree dated 25 November. No criminal action may be taken against him if he abides by the conditions of the decree.
10.31am: Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit enters courtroom.
10.30am: The third suspect, Vince Muscat, is brought in.
10.30am: Members of the Caruana Galizia family, including Daphne's husband Peter and her parents, are present. Her sons are also present. Relatives of the suspects are also present in the packed courtroom. Lawyers Philip Galea Farrugia and Nadia Attard area appearing for the Attorney General's office.
10.29am: Melvin Theuma walks in, but walks out immediately after. He is being assisted by lawyer Matthew Brincat.
10.28am: Alfred and George Degiorgio, accused of the murder, enter the courtroom under heavy security.