The trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech over the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia resumes on Wednesday for its seventh day, with lead investigator Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud set to face a third day of cross-examination before Judge Edwina Grima.
The defence began questioning Arnaud on Monday afternoon spending last Friday and Saturday giving evidence for the prosecution.
His cross-examination has since focused on the police investigation into the murder, with defence lawyer Gianella De Marco probing the handling of evidence, the circumstances surrounding Melvin Theuma's presidential pardon and whether investigators sufficiently explored alternative lines of inquiry.
During Tuesday's sitting, jurors heard that police never recovered former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri's mobile phone or laptop despite searches at his home and office.
The defence also revisited claims involving former minister Chris Cardona and questioned the lead investigator about alternative theories surrounding the murder, all of which Arnaud maintained were unsupported by the evidence gathered during the investigation.
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, began testifying last week, outlining the police investigation that followed Caruana Galizia's assassination in a car bomb attack on 16 October 2017.
Over the course of his testimony, he detailed how secret recordings made by state witness Melvin Theuma, messages recovered from the encrypted messaging app Signal and data extracted from Fenech's mobile phone became central to the prosecution's case.
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 De Marco and Gianluca Caruana Curran, while lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family.
Judge Edwina Grima is presiding over the case.
16:45 Following a technical cross-examination centred on technical questions about how he compared the explosion with other incidents, Curmi concludes his testimony.
The judge then brings the day's proceedings to a close, adjourning the hearing until tomorrow.
This concludes today's live blog. A roundup of the day's key testimony will be available shortly. Thank you for following our live coverage, and we'll be back tomorrow as the trial continues.
16:40: Curmi delves into the technicalities of IEDs – or rather, Improvised Explosive Devices, giving the jury an explanation on what makes a bomb, its components and the different types of bombs that there may be – particularly in how it can be detonated.
Curmi explained that a bomb could be on a timer, or could be manually detonated by a person via a phone or other device, or could be one which is set off by the victim themselves without them knowing.
He said that investigators try to rebuild the bomb – much like a jigsaw puzzle – in order to fully understand its make-up.
Curmi says that there were similar metal pieces, measuring around 2.5 centimetres, used in the bombs in the Romeo Bone, Kevin Ellul, and Daphne Caruana Galizia cases.
16:20: Former AFM Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi is the next to testify – and he does so via video call from the Netherlands, where he is currently serving as Malta’s ambassador.
Curmi is an explosives expert and he tells the court that he was the court-appointed expert for every bombing since 2005 except for the one in this case, which was at his own request.
Regardless, he had a role in investigations as he was asked to compare this explosion to other ones in order to try and identify similarities.
He found that the explosion was similar to the one in Msida targeting Romeo Bone in 2017 and another one in Gharghur targeting Kevin Ellul in 2018.
Lead investigator Keith Arnaud testified earlier in the case that the bomb used in the Caruana Galizia assassination was like those used in these two cases, and that the SIM cards which detonated all three of these bombs were purchased together.
15:55: Marcel van Beest testifies that investigators determined the substances used in the explosives by taking samples of residue on the car’s seatbelt and from the hole that was left in the road by the blast.
Samples were taken from zones further away from the crime scene to establish whether there was any contamination caused by the explosion.
The photos shown by the expert are quite graphic: they show the result of the explosion, including body parts – imagery which is too much for one of Caruana Galizia’s relatives, who exited the courtroom.
Caruana Galizia’s mobile phone was also found at the scene, specifically under the car’s left wheel. It was registered as evidence, passed on to the police, and later transported to the Netherlands Forensic Institute’s offices.
Ultimately, the expert’s conclusion was that the bomb that been placed inside the car, specifically underneath the driver’s seat.
Neither the prosecution nor the defence have any questions for him, and he steps down from the witness stand.
15:40: The expert tells the jury of his work at the scene: it was split into sectors, items were sealed and tagged, the area was photographed both at ground-level and from the air.
van Beest says that several body parts were found at the scene which were so severely burnt and damaged that they could not be immediately identified. Caruana Galizia’s body suffered extensive injuries and severe burns as a result of the fire after the explosion.
The explosion itself left a hole in the road which measured around 60 by 65 centimetres, he said.
15:25: The judge and jury are back in the courtroom after the lunch break, and the case will continue with the testimony of Dutch Forensic Institute expert Marcel van Beest, who came to Malta after the murder to investigate the crime scene and reconstruct it together with police and Armed Forces.
12:56 The judge orders a break in proceedings. The sitting will resume at 3pm.
12:55 Police Constable Malcolm Cefai, one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of the explosion, takes the witness stand. Cefai tells the court that he and a colleague attempted to put out the burning vehicle with a fire extinguisher, but the flames were too intense.
He says Matthew Caruana Galizia was at the scene and told the officers: "My mum is in the car."
Cefai also recalls that a passer-by began taking photographs of the scene. He says Matthew Caruana Galizia grabbed the man's phone and smashed it, describing him as being in a state of panic and "not in a good way at all."
12:44 The defence asks Superintendent Cilia whether police regularly patrolled the area where the murder took place. The superintendent replies that police patrols are carried out across the country.
De Marco then asks who determines where patrols are assigned.
The superintendent says those decisions are taken by the police commissioner or assistant commissioners, rather than by inspectors.
He also presents documentation showing police patrols that had been carried out on the day of the murder.
With that, Superintendent Cilia concludes his testimony.
12:40 Jurors are shown a series of graphic photographs of the aftermath of the explosion site. The images were taken by officers from the Rapid Intervention Unit who responded to the emergency call at the scene.
12:35: Cilia recalls the murder site: he describes body parts strewn around, firefighters battling the flames, a destroyed car and a small crater in the road. He says that Matthew Caruana Galizia was arguing with a bystander who he accused of taking a photo of his dead mother.
The bomb disposal squad then came on scene, with police moving aside while they secured the site. Cilia said that he remained on site until then inquiring magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera arrived at the scene.
12:25: Superintendent Antoine Cilia is up next on the witness stand.
He was working on the day that Caruana Galizia was killed, and he walks the jury through the events of that day, starting with the moment the call came in about an explosion in Bidnija.
12:23: The jury asks Arnaud whether he had asked Schembri where he was when his mobile phone went dead at 5am on 26 November 2019.
Arnaud replies that Schembri said that he had been home all night, and claimed that he had not used his phone all night. “We found out Adrian Vella had also contacted him that night,” Arnaud said.
Asked whether it was normal for two officers to conduct a house search in such cases and why they didn’t search his Castille office immediately, Arnaud said that a lot happened that night which saw his team working throughout, including speaking to Adrian Vella.
“Then we moved to arrest Keith Schembri. Our team went to bed but Inspector Kurt Zahra and I decided to do it straight away. Yes, we could have searched the Castille office that day,” he says.
A juror asks about some messages which appear to have been deleted as they were disappearing messages and whether these could be retrieved, Arnaud said that they rely on court experts for that and they can be retrieved in some cases.
A juror also asked whether Keith Schembri’s version of events match the geolocation on his phone, to which Arnaud says a cellular tech engineer had presented a report and it is part of the evidence of the case. It includes a map with a location pin showing the phone’s last known location – which was in Mellieha, the locality were Schembri resides.
The judge tells the jury that they can ask such questions to the experts directly when they testify.
With that, Arnaud’s testimony concludes, and he steps off the witness stand.
12:15: The jury asks whether Theuma was asked why Schembri wanted to calm him down, and Arnaud replies that Theuma said that they didn’t try to calm him down – rather he said that Kenneth Camilleri had told him that the hitmen were going to get bail, and when they didn’t get it he was angry and spoke to Yorgen.
On whether the handwriting on the letter given to investigators by Fenech’s lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran was ever analysed and identified, Arnaud said that Adrian Vella had told investigators that he saw Fenech scribble something on it, and that after pressing charges the police asked the inquiring magistrate to appoint experts who could analyse the letter – which they did and reported their findings to the inquiry.
12:05: The jury foreman asks Arnaud whether Theuma revealed how much money he had been paid or kept for his role in the murder, to which Arnaud replies that Theuma said he never received anything and actually ended up losing money, because he’d end up forking out money himself whenever Fenech was abroad.
Asked by the foreman why Theuma had put the photo of himself with Keith Schembri in his box, Arnaud said that Theuma had told police that he had done so because he had got it into his head that Schembri and Fenech wanted to eliminate him, as he felt he was the only person who could expose them.
“He was convinced that they wanted to shut him up,” Arnaud said.
On whether Schembri confirmed that he got Theuma a job, Arnaud said that Schembri had confirmed that Theuma went to Castille close to the election and that he had referred him to another person. Schembri also told investigators that it was normal for people to ask to take a photo with him.
Asked if Theuma said why he was given a job from Castille, Arnaud said that Theuma had been told by Fenech that someone from there would be speaking to him about a job – the moment Theuma hung up the said call with Fenech, he got a call from Castille.
11:15 The short break is over and jurors now have a chance to make their questions to the lead investigator.
10:15 Prosecutor Godwin Cini asks Arnaud who has been charged with leaking confidential information from the murder investigation.
Before Arnaud can answer, the judge instructs him not to identify anyone, noting that the matter is still the subject of separate ongoing proceedings. "I know a person was charged," Arnaud tells the court.
The prosecution then asks Arnaud about one of Melvin Theuma's recordings, specifically what Yorgen Fenech had said regarding Daphne Caruana Galizia's laptop.
Arnaud says Fenech claimed that the Caruana Galizia family had not handed the laptop over to investigators and had instead taken it to Germany.
The judge then orders a short recess. Proceedings will resume at 11am.
10:12 The defence concludes its cross-examination of Keith Arnaud.
Before the prosecution begins its questioning, the judge informs the court that members of the jury have indicated they would like to ask the witness a number of questions. Jurors have also requested copies of some of the documents exhibited during the proceedings.
Once Arnaud's testimony is complete, the jury foreman will put the jurors' questions to the witness for clarification.
10:00 Arnaud tells the court that he used to communicate with Keith Schembri through WhatsApp, but says he no longer has Schembri's number.
De Marco asks whether he ever felt any sense of deference towards Schembri.
Arnaud replies that he dealt with Schembri in his capacity as the prime minister's chief of staff.
De Marco then reads out a WhatsApp exchange between Schembri and Johann Cremona, a business associate of Yorgen Fenech.
In the messages, Cremona tells Schembri that Arnaud wanted them to testify.
Schembri replies that they would not allow it, while also describing Arnaud as someone who had "always been fair" with him.
Asked about the exchange, Arnaud says he has always treated people fairly.
"There are people serving life in prison who I've gone to visit because they wanted to speak to me. That's the way to do things," he tells the court.
09:45 Arnaud confirms that Keith Schembri never told investigators he knew Melvin Theuma, even when discussions were taking place about granting Theuma a presidential pardon. Arnaud adds that Theuma also never told police that he knew Schembri personally.
He further confirms that Schembri denied sending anyone to reassure Theuma after his arrest.
De Marco then asks Arnaud to confirm whether Theuma had requested to speak to then Opposition leader Simon Busuttil following his arrest.
Arnaud replies that he had never mentioned any names, saying only that Theuma had asked for a Nationalist lawyer. "He asked for others. I can name them if you like," Arnaud tells the court.
De Marco moves on to a different line of questioning.
09:38 Responding to further questions from the defence, Arnaud tells the court that requests to extract data from the mobile phones of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Yorgen Fenech, Keith Schembri and others were made by the inquiring magistrate, not by the police.
The questioning then turns to Caruana Galizia's laptop. Arnaud says investigators obtained the information they required from the journalist's son.
"Whatever information we needed from the laptop, we got from the victim's son," Arnaud tells the court.
"I needed information about the stories Caruana Galizia was working on, and he gave me everything."
09:35 Arnaud confirms that police questioned former minister Chris Cardona and two of his associates, known as Toni l-Biglee and Toni l-Iblaħ.
However, he says investigators did not seize their mobile phones. De Marco refers to testimony by two of the men convicted over the murder, who had claimed that Cardona paid €50,000 in connection with an alleged 2015 plot to assassinate Daphne Caruana Galizia.
She asks whether they were questioned again after making those claims. Arnaud replies that they were not, saying the testimony was "riddled with inaccuracies."
"We investigated every lead, the evidence doesn't indicate that anyone other than those charged was involved in this case," he tells the court.
De Marco then refers to evidence given by George Degiorgio, who claimed that fellow hitman Vince Muscat, Chris Cardona and former police officer-turned-lawyer David Gatt were involved in both the alleged 2015 plot and the 2017 assassination.
Arnaud rejects that version of events, saying George Degiorgio himself had confirmed that the €150,000 payment received by the hitmen was linked to the 2017 murder.
09:23 Defence lawyer Giannella De Marco opens the day's cross-examination by asking Arnaud whether police ever seized the mobile phone of former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar. Arnaud replies that they did not. He tells the court that, following suspicions of information leaks, he and Inspector Kurt Zahra requested an investigation but did not carry it out themselves.
"There was an inquiry into the leaks and we sought an investigation. We did not investigate it ourselves, for the sake of transparency. Inspector Kurt Zahra and I reported the suspected leaks to our superiors, but we did not conduct the investigation ourselves," Arnaud says.
Cutajar, who served as police commissioner between 2016 and 2020, has previously acknowledged meeting a man linked to murder middleman Melvin Theuma before Theuma's arrest, saying the meeting was intended to obtain information about the case.
09:16 The judge and jurors have taken their seats in the courtroom, with Assistant Police Commissioner Keith Arnaud already on the witness stand. Proceedings are now underway.
09:00 Good morning and welcome to this live blog for the seventh day of the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech. Today's sitting is scheduled to start shortly, and will run till around 6pm with a break for lunch in the afternoon.