George Degiorgio has confessed to his role in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, saying in an interview with Reuters that he will not “go down alone” for the murder.
Degiorgio told Reuters that the assassination was “just business” and that he would not be going down alone for it.
"If I knew, I would have gone for 10 million. Not 150,000," he said, referring to the sum in euros that he said he was paid for killing the journalist.
"For me it was just business. Yeah. Business as usual!" he told a Reuters reporter. He later added, "Of course I feel sorry."
Degiorgio, his brother Alfred, and Vincent Muscat were arrested and charged with carrying out the murder of the journalist in December 2017. Vincent Muscat has since been imprisoned for 15 years after he pleaded guilty to his involvement in the murder.
Degiorgio and his brother have time and time again tried to secure a presidential pardon in exchange for testifying against others allegedly involved in the murder, and about other crimes across the island.
Each time, these requests have been refused, and the Appeals Court recently rejected the brothers’ remaining legal changes, paving the way for the trial against them to go ahead.
Degiorgio gave Reuters the interview – the first time he has commented publicly about the case – from his prison cell, where he said that he would be speaking to the magistrate in order to plead guilty ahead of the trial.
He indicated that he would provide testimony which implicates others in the murder and also exposes them for a previous unsuccessful plot to kill the journalist.
Degiorgio said that he wanted a sentence reduction for himself and his brother in doing so, and wanted to ensure that they would not be “going down alone.”
Degiorgio said in the interview that he was willing to testify that a person whom Reuters did not name but described as a “top Maltese political figure” had tried to arrange a hit on Daphne Caruana Galizia two years prior, in 2015.
He also said that he would testify about the involvement of two senior former ministers in an armed robbery.
Reuters said that they would not be naming the individuals in question at this stage, adding that all of them deny involvement in any crime.
Degiorgio and his brother have till now, through their lawyer William Cuschieri, insistently stated they were not involved in the murder, and have filed countless legal challenges against different aspects of the high-profile case.
Degiorgio was being interviewed by Reuters as part of research being conducted for a podcast on the Caruana Galizia case titled “Who Killed Daphne?” which is due to air in July.
Businessman Yorgen Fenech currently stands accused of having masterminded the murder of Caruana Galizia. He was arrested in November 2019, and his proximity to the government led to street protests which ultimately led to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat resigning from his post.