Convicted hitman Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, told jurors on Tuesday that the group behind Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination wanted to ensure she was killed rather than injured, saying the bomb planted beneath the drivers' seat inside her car was deliberately designed to maximise the blast.

Muscat spent the day under questioning in the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech, maintaining the core aspects of his account of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia while at times telling the court that the passage of time had blurred his memory on several details.

Fenech, 44, has pleaded not guilty to complicity in Caruana Galizia's murder and to criminal association to commit the assassination.

The morning opened with prosecutor Godwin Cini attempting to clarify one of the inconsistencies that emerged during Monday's sitting - the timing of the €30,000 deposit allegedly paid by middleman Melvin Theuma as part of the agreed €150,000 payment for the murder.

Muscat had previously testified on several occasions that the deposit was received after the 2017 general election but had indicated on Monday that he believed it may have been handed over before the election. The prosecution referred him to extracts from earlier testimony in an effort to refresh his memory, prompting objections from the defence.

After the jury temporarily left the courtroom, Judge Edwina Grima ruled that the prosecution could not continue asking the witness the same question in the hope of obtaining a different answer, noting that Muscat had already been confronted with previous testimony and had maintained his latest version.

Petrol-filled bottle incorporated into bomb

The prosecution then moved on to the bomb used in the assassination.

Muscat recalled George Degiorgio telling Robert Agius and Jamie Vella that the device had to be more powerful than the one used in the attempted murder of Romeo Bone. According to Muscat, the intention was to ensure that Caruana Galizia was killed rather than injured.

He also testified that a petrol-filled bottle was incorporated into the explosive device to maximise the blast and that Alfred Degiorgio deliberately placed the bomb beneath the driver's seat for maximum effect.

Questioned about alleged communications involving former minister Chris Cardona, Muscat said Alfred Degiorgio had told him information was being relayed through intermediaries.

The court also heard evidence about the period leading up to the arrests of the alleged hitmen.

Muscat said the group knew in advance that police were about to arrest them and had agreed to cooperate peacefully when officers arrived. He said they also wanted to project the impression that they had influential people backing them.

He told jurors that while in prison he received money through intermediaries, with payments ultimately reaching his family. He confirmed that Melvin Theuma, the middleman, had also passed on money while he was incarcerated, although those payments stopped after his wife refused to accept any more.

Muscat also testified that, shortly before he decided to cooperate with investigators, Robert Agius and Jamie Vella allegedly offered him €1,500 a month if he refrained from mentioning them to police. He said the proposal, conveyed through his father-in-law, was rejected and that he never received any money from the pair.

Muscat says he feared for his family's safety

Turning to his decision to assist investigators, Muscat said he agreed to speak to police after discussions with his then lawyer Arthur Azzopardi regarding the possibility of obtaining a presidential pardon.

He described how George Degiorgio later confronted him in prison after learning he had begun cooperating with police. Muscat said he believed the Degiorgio brothers had discovered this through communications with Melvin Theuma using a mobile phone in prison.

He told the court he feared for his family's safety after hearing threats that acid could be thrown at his children.

The witness insisted he was the first person to identify Melvin Theuma to investigators and claimed that the investigation advanced because of the information he provided.

Asked about Yorgen Fenech, Muscat said the accused's name only emerged during one meeting with Assistant Commissioner Arnaud.

He recalled asking whether Fenech would also be charged, explaining that he had felt sympathy because Fenech was "a prominent person". According to Muscat, Arnaud replied that everyone was equal before the law.

Muscat also reiterated that, throughout his involvement, he only knew Theuma as the intermediary receiving instructions from someone else whose identity he did not know. He maintained that all payments connected to the murder came through Theuma.

The defence, led by lawyer Giannella de Marco, then embarked on an extensive cross-examination focusing largely on Muscat's previous testimony and alleged inconsistencies.

Much of the questioning centred on allegations involving former minister Chris Cardona, lawyer David Gatt and other individuals mentioned during earlier proceedings.

Muscat confirmed that he had driven Alfred Degiorgio to meetings with Cardona on several occasions before the murder, saying he dropped him near the minister's office but did not attend the meetings himself. He testified that, as far as he understood, Cardona was allegedly providing information about Caruana Galizia's whereabouts rather than directly participating in the murder.

Hitman sent Caruana Galizia messages in 2015

Questioned about the original 2015 murder plan, Muscat said the first proposal involved shooting Caruana Galizia with a machine gun rather than using a bomb. He said Jamie Vella was expected to carry out the shooting.

He also testified that George Degiorgio had purchased a mobile phone to contact Caruana Galizia while pretending to possess information for her. Referring to previous testimony, Muscat said lawyer David Gatt had also obtained the journalist's mobile number.

Recalling one exchange, Muscat said Caruana Galizia replied: "I don't deal over the phone... come and face me."

Muscat testified that he was beside Gatt when the message arrived and said that they had resorted to sending messages because they had not seen Caruana Galizia for around three days and were trying to establish her whereabouts.

During lengthy questioning, however, Muscat repeatedly answered "I don't remember" when pressed on specific details from earlier testimony.

He said many of the details had come to him through George Degiorgio and acknowledged that, after so many years, he could no longer recall every conversation or event with precision.

The defence also questioned Muscat about lawyer David Gatt's visits to the Marsa potato shed, where Muscat claimed Gatt allegedly made gestures referring to Keith Schembri before later mimicking an explosion with his hand.

Muscat reiterated that he had been told Robert Agius and Jamie Vella would bring three bombs into Malta from abroad but said he did not know who paid for them or whether any political figures financed their acquisition.

Defence blocked from using disputed diagram during cross-examination

Cross-examination of Muscat was briefly interrupted after the defence attempted to question him using a diagram allegedly related to the murder plot that had not been included in the court record.

Judge Grima ordered the jurors out of the courtroom while lawyers argued over its admissibility. Prosecutor Anthony Vella objected, saying the defence had ample opportunity to introduce the document earlier and that allowing it at this stage would prejudice the prosecution.

The judge rejected the request, ruling that the diagram formed part of separate proceedings, had not been exhibited in the present case and had not been included in the defence's list of documents.

Questions over Cardona meetings

The defence also questioned Muscat about claims concerning former minister Chris Cardona.

Muscat confirmed that he and Alfred Degiorgio had gone to Ferdinand's Bar in Siġġiewi around the time of their arrests looking for Cardona but did not find him there.

Asked whether he had personally heard Degiorgio speak to Cardona, Muscat replied that he had not. When confronted with previous testimony before the inquiring magistrate suggesting that Degiorgio and Cardona met in Siġġiewi every Saturday, Muscat disputed the characterisation, insisting it was not every Saturday.

The defence continued asking about how often Degiorgio and Cardona communicated, prompting Judge Grima to intervene and instruct counsel not to repeat the same questions after Muscat repeatedly said he did not know.

Muscat also agreed that he had been looking for Cardona because he wanted his help, but said he could not remember the reason. He recalled that Alfred Degiorgio had been trying to contact Cardona shortly before the arrests because he feared Cardona might leave Malta before they had an opportunity to speak.

Pardon efforts revisited

The defence later returned to Muscat's efforts to secure a presidential pardon and his relationship with lawyer Arthur Azzopardi.

Muscat confirmed that lawyer Martin Fenech represented him in the Caruana Galizia murder proceedings, while Azzopardi became involved only in relation to attempts to obtain a presidential pardon.

According to Muscat, Azzopardi had told him: "I'll make it my mission to get you a pardon."

Questioned about previous testimony that Azzopardi had encouraged him to change aspects of his version of events, Muscat maintained that the lawyer urged him to "mention everyone" when speaking to investigators.

When asked whether that included Azzopardi's own clients, Muscat recalled the lawyer replying: "Whoever they may be," adding that Azzopardi had remarked that obtaining a pardon would ultimately depend on the Prime Minister.

Muscat once again maintained that Azzopardi had encouraged him to place blame on middleman Melvin Theuma.

He later confirmed that his first request for a presidential pardon had been unsuccessful before he tried again at a later stage. Asked why Azzopardi was no longer representing him, Muscat said the lawyer had also been receiving threats and had advised him to "think about your children."

Memory challenged

Cross-examination concluded with the defence repeatedly questioning Muscat about his recollection of references to former chief of staff Keith Schembri, suggesting that he claimed not to remember whenever Schembri's name arose.

Muscat rejected the suggestion, insisting he was recounting only what he genuinely remembered.

He testified that whenever lawyer David Gatt made a "number one" hand gesture, those present would speak about how "smart" and "good" Schembri was, which was why they referred to him as "Number One."

The defence also questioned him about meetings with investigators in which names were allegedly replaced by letters on a diagram.

Muscat said he remembered "there were some letters", but prosecutors objected, arguing that the defence was referring to material not before the court.

After a short break, the defence informed the court it had no further questions for Muscat.

The prosecution then requested that he accompany jurors during future site visits before proceedings were adjourned until Wednesday morning.