Police assistant commissioner Keith Arnaud is to continue testifying Saturday in the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech.

Fenech, 44, has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder.

Arnaud, the lead investigator in the case, testified for a whole day on Friday, giving an account of the police investions that led to arrests after the journalist was killed in a car bomb on 16 October, 2017.

For over almost seven hours on Friday, Arnaud retraced the inquiry that prosecutors say led detectives from the smoking wreckage of the journalist's car to the man accused of commissioning her assassination, explaining how investigators pieced together thousands of mobile phone records, CCTV images and forensic findings before eventually identifying the alleged mastermind behind the plot. Crucial in the police investigation was Melvin Theuma, who was given a presidential pardon to speak about the plot.

Five men have already been convicted in connection with Caruana Galizia's assassination. Vince Muscat admitted his role in the murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Alfred and George Degiorgio each received 40-year prison sentences after pleading guilty in 2022, while Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025 for supplying the bomb used in the attack.

The prosecution is being led by Attorney General lawyers Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella and Danika Vella, assisted by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra. Fenech is represented by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Gianella Demarco and Gianluca Caruana Curran, while lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family.

Judhe Edwina Grima is presiding over the case.

10:27 Arnaud tells the court that the second phase of the investigation introduced several new figures, including Johann Cremona, Edgar Brincat, and Kenneth Camilleri. Investigators believed these individuals each played different roles in reassuring and calming Theuma as his anxiety grew. Proceedings are then interrupted after defence lawyer Charles Mercieca raises a legal objection. The jurors are asked to leave the courtroom while the point is argued before the judge, and Arnaud also steps out of the witness box pending the court's ruling. Within minutes, the proceedings resume and they are back in. 

10:19 When asked to explain when Kenneth Camilleri allegedly made promises to him, Arnaud tells the court the investigation is divided into two distinct phases. The first covers the period before the murder, including the planning of the assassination and the associated payments. The second phase began once the police investigation gathered momentum; Arnaud explains that it was during this time that Theuma became increasingly anxious as investigators closed in, prompting many of the events and conversations the court is being informed about.

10:16 Arnaud tells the court that Melvin Theuma said he had kept a photograph of himself with Keith Schembri inside the box he handed to investigators. Theuma said the photo was taken on the day he was given the phantom government job and told police, "I wanted to blackmail him." Arnaud adds that investigators also interviewed Kenneth Camilleri and Johann Cremona as part of their efforts to piece together Theuma's account, noting that Fenech's name had never surfaced publicly in connection with the murder investigation until Theuma's arrest.

10:15Arnaud tells the court that Theuma expressed remorse for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and indicated a desire to apologize to her family. Theuma also revealed that he had at one stage considered approaching the police to confess everything. The witness explains that Theuma felt under mounting pressure from the Degiorgio brothers for money while struggling to reach Fenech, who was frequently abroad. Arnaud notes that parts of Theuma's account were subsequently confirmed by statements Fenech himself gave to the police.

10:13 Investigators recovered numerous recordings of conversations between Theuma and Johann Cremona. Arnaud describes Theuma calling Cremona in the middle of the night in a state of panic and deep distress, with Cremona acting as a source of emotional support. Arnaud adds that Theuma did, in fact, attempt to take his own life during this period.

10:11 Arnaud tells the court that Theuma was aware of the contact between Yorgen Fenech and then-OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri. Theuma was in such a fragile psychological state that he contemplated suicide, a detail corroborated by Johann Cremona, who rented a garage from Theuma and had insight into his deteriorating mental state, Arnaud says.

10:09 Theuma was regularly paying between €2,000 and €3,000 weekly to the Degiorgio brothers to cover their legal and living expenses. Arnaud explains that Mario Degiorgio would solicit these funds from Theuma, who would then secure the cash from Yorgen Fenech before passing it to Mario, Arnaud testifies. As Mario became increasingly frustrated by the brothers' repeated bail denials, Theuma grew anxious; he began secretly recording conversations with Fenech.

10:07 Arnaud testifies that following a court sitting where the Degiorgio brothers sought bail, Melvin Theuma had been approached by Kenneth Camilleri, an OPM security official, and Johann Cremona. The two told Theuma not to worry because the brothers would be granted bail, a claim Theuma relayed to the Degiorgios. Bail, however, was ultimately denied.

10:02 Arnaud tells the court that investigators concluded it was Yorgen Fenech who informed Melvin Theuma that hitman Vince Muscat was speaking to the police. According to Arnaud, Theuma then passed this information to Mario Degiorgio, who in turn relayed it to his brothers in prison. The witness explains that this sequence of events is why Vince Muscat's lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, later contacted investigators to report that the Degiorgio brothers had discovered Muscat was cooperating with the police. 

10:01 Arnaud tells the court that Melvin Theuma's account was repeatedly corroborated by other evidence collected throughout the investigation. He explains that key elements of Theuma's version aligned with Vince Muscat's testimony, forensic evidence, and information previously uncovered by the police. Arnaud adds that even the tip-offs Theuma claimed to have received regarding the progress of the investigation proved to be accurate, which further strengthened the investigators' confidence in the credibility of his evidence. 

09.57 The investigation accelerated in mid-November 2019, around the time of the initial meeting at Castille. Arnaud states that Theuma informed investigators that, just before the Degiorgio brothers were arrested, Yorgen Fenech had instructed him to tip them off about the impending police raids. Arnaud explains that this detail provided insight into why one of the Degiorgio brothers was not in possession of his personal mobile phone at the time of his arrest. The witness adds that Theuma had functioned as a messenger between Fenech and the Degiorgios, relaying instructions without ever disclosing who had actually commissioned the murder. 

09:53 Arnaud highlights a specific chat message between Melvin Theuma and Yorgen Fenech that referenced police suspicions that the bomb had been assembled in Żebbuġ. Arnaud notes that at the time, Żebbuġ was already a primary focus for investigators, who had searched the area believing it to be under the control of the Ta' Maksar brothers. Because this information had not been made public, Arnaud explains that it reinforced the investigators' confidence in the credibility of Theuma's testimony and his direct, first-hand knowledge of the murder plot. 

09:52 According to Theuma's account, he believed the matter was finished once the murder was executed and the payment was delivered. Arnaud recounts that, in Theuma's view, "the mission was complete, the money had been handed over and everyone was happy." However, this sense of security dissolved when Theuma realised that the police were closing in on the individuals involved. Arnaud notes that this shift in demeanour confirmed the investigators' belief that Theuma was aware the police investigation was gaining ground. 

09:50 Lead investigator Keith Arnaud takes the stand and continues his testimony. Arnaud informs the court that police conducted six interviews with middleman Melvin Theuma between November 19 and 22, 2019, following his arrest. He explains that the investigative strategy was to allow Theuma to speak freely about everything he knew concerning the murder plot. During these sessions, Theuma described handing a bag of cash to Alfred Degiorgio at his apartment in Marsaskala, with Arnaud noting that, according to Theuma's account, "everything was sorted" at that point regarding the payment. 

09:45 The jurors enter the countroom

09:17 Judge Edwina Grima has entered the courtroom. Procedural issues are being discussed before the jurors are brought into the hall. The debate is at times animated.

09:15 While we wait, here are the biggest takeaways from yesterday's evidence:

"I need to kill Daphne.": Jurors heard that Melvin Theuma claimed to police that Yorgen Fenech told him he wanted Daphne Caruana Galizia dead because she "knew something" about his uncle. Theuma later concluded that was a red herring after Fenech allegedly admitted the journalist was actually about to publish information about him.

The murder plot was allegedly put on ice: According to Theuma's account, the plan was shelved when the 2017 election was called, only to be dusted off after Labour's victory, when Fenech allegedly handed over an envelope containing €150,000.

The 'ice cream tub' changed everything: Police deliberately held off arresting Theuma until they had built a parallel money laundering case. When they finally moved in, he was carrying a plastic tub crammed with phones, recordings, documents and photographs that investigators say blew the investigation wide open.

A suspected leak rattled investigators: Arnaud said police feared someone had tipped off the suspects after the Degiorgio brothers allegedly found out Vince Muscat had started cooperating with investigators just a day after a meeting at Castille.

How detectives joined the dots: Arnaud also explained how burner phones, CCTV footage, telecommunications data and the movements of George Degiorgio's boat, Maya, allowed investigators to track down the alleged hitmen first before closing in on the alleged mastermind.

09:00 The fourth day of the trial is expected to start shortly.