The Degiorgio brothers were not happy with the payment for Daphne Caruana Galizia murder, Vince Muscat, known as il-Kohhu, said today in court.

"Were the Degorgio brothers satisfied with the €150,000 they received for the (Caruana Galizia) murder?", Muscat was asked as the cross-examination in a trial by jury continued. "They said they received peanuts and wanted a million. They were not happy with the amount," Muscat replied.

He was testifying in the trial by jury of the four men charged with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop will continue on Tuesday morning before Madam Justice Edwina Grima. 

The accused are 'Ta' Maksar' brothers, Robert and Adrian Agius, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio.

Vella and Robert Agius, Adrian's younger brother are accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by supplying the bomb that killed her in October 2017.

Adrian Agius is charged with commissioning the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015. Prosecutors insist that the hit was also carried out in complicity with  Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio who are accused of executing Chircop's murder. 

All four accused deny the charges against them and if found guilty, they face up to life in prison.

In separate proceedings, Degiorgio pleaded guilty to his role in the Caruana Galizia murder. His brother, Alfred, had also pleaded guilty and both were sentenced to 40 years in prison.

The four men were charged in February 2021 after Vince Muscat admitted guilt in the Caruana Galizia murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a plea bargain.

Muscat was subsequently granted a presidential pardon to tell all on the Chircop murder.

Testifying in court on Wednesday, Muscat said that he did not know former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri personally.

"I am aware he was former chief of staff to Joseph Muscat but I don't know him personally," he said.

On the courtroom television, a note written by Muscat himself is seen. A part of it read, 'Tah razzet li qalli Keith.' 

"Someone named Keith told you something about a farmhouse. Who is Keith?" the lawyer asks. Muscat said he did not remember. 

This concluded the testimony given by Muscat, which had started Friday.

Explosives experts

Expert Mario Cmarec, a specialist in explosives from the European anti-terrorist section of Europol, tells the court that he had assigned to make a 'post-blast investigation', on Caruana Galizia's car and to analyse the objects elevated from the crime scene. His role involved determining things such as the quantity of explosive devices, where the bomb was placed, and the type of explosives used. 

He said that the vehicle was properly secured by the police officers at their premises. He told the court he documented the damages on all sides of the vehicle.

Together with two Maltese police officers from the forensic laboratory and two Armed Forces officers from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal, the Europol expert established that the bomb, at the time of the explosion, was inside the car under the driver's seat. 

The bomb was covered by a metal sheet filled with between 300 and 400 grammes of military-grade explosive material.

Cmarec stated that the bomb was hand-made and consisted of material that is easily found locally. The Europol expert testified that evidence found showed that the way the bomb was made and the place it was in were specifically intended to kill the person driving the car and also kill passengers that might have been in the vehicle.

He added that to properly examine the damaged vehicle, another car, the exact same model of the same year as Caruana Galizia's, was also brought to police premises for visualisation and comparison.