The trial of Yorgen Fenech over the 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia enters its 18th day today, with attention turning to the highly anticipated testimony of business associate Johann Cremona.
Cremona's name has surfaced repeatedly throughout the proceedings, most recently during the testimonies of both Edgar Brincat 'Il-Ġojja' and former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.
A close associate of Fenech who also maintained contacts with self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma, Cremona is facing intense questioning regarding his role and interactions in the period surrounding the murder.
Yorgen Fenech, a businessman, has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder.
Caruana Galizia, a columnist with The Malta Independent, was killed in a car bomb on 16 October, 2017.
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.
Judge Edwina Grima is presiding.
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13:00: Cremona says that the Degiorgio brothers had sought €400,000 from Theuma for their trial, and threatened to expose him if he did not pay up.
He continues that Theuma would tell him that he was going to ask Fenech for the money for the two hitmen. The prosecution says that Cremona had previously testified that Theuma also said that he intended to demand money from Keith Schembri via Kenneth Camilleri – but Cremona says he has no recollection of that.
With that, the court goes off for its lunch break. The sitting will resume at 3pm.
12:50: Questioning turns to Theuma’s pardon, and Cremona testified that Theuma had told him that he had spoken to Edgar Brincat who then spoke to Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, and he then got a pardon.
He reflects on his conversations with Theuma – which were recorded – and says that he thinks that Theuma “cherry-picked” which recordings he kept, and deleted others.
“If Melvin said something and you disagreed with him… he could choose which recordings to use,” he says.
Cremona says that he was angry with Theuma for recording him: “He ruined my life.”
Getting emotional, he says that Theuma didn’t need to record him. “It is not Yorgen Fenech who got me into all this. He wasn't the one who asked me to keep Melvin calm,” Cremona says.
Asked by the prosecution who asked him to keep Melvin calm, Cremona doesn’t offer a clear answer, instead saying that he was worried about the business.
12:35: Cremona testifies that “weeks” after the meeting at Castille, he told Yorgen Fenech via text that Schembri wanted to speak with him – but Fenech replied ‘Don’t take any notice of him.’
He says that he maintained contact with Schembri and that Schembri would ask about Fenech, but then suddenly stopped doing so – and Cremona presumes that this is because they were back in direct contact with each other.
12:28 Johann Cremona testified that his first interaction with Keith Schembri occurred in September 2019, when Schembri summoned him to Castille. Cremona stated that they initially spoke about gaming before the conversation shifted to Yorgen Fenech, with Schembri asking if Fenech had spoken to him lately and appearing worried about him, ultimately telling Cremona to let him know if Fenech reached out. When prosecutors asked why Schembri inquired about Fenech, Cremona suggested it might have been because Schembri knew they were business partners. Following that meeting, the two men exchanged text messages using the encrypted messaging app Signal, with Cremona noting that Schembri would regularly ask him about Fenech.
12:19 Johann Cremona testifies that Melvin Theuma told him Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri were good friends, explaining that Fenech received information from Schembri while Theuma obtained information from Edgar Brincat through former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar. When prosecutors asked how Schembri factored into Theuma's feeling of betrayal, Cremona reiterated the incident where Theuma called him requesting Kenneth Camilleri's phone number leading to their meeting in Valletta. Cremona stated that Theuma believed Schembri had sent Camilleri, noting Theuma's strong persistence in securing bail for the Degiorgio brothers. When pressed further on why Theuma claimed both Fenech and Schembri had betrayed him, Cremona answers, "I don't know."
12:09 Johann Cremona testifies that he never spoke to Yorgen Fenech about the case, even when developments regarding the case would emerge in the news.
The prosecution once again makes reference to a previous testimony of his where he had said that he only spoke to Fenech once about the case, when something came out in the news about the accused.
He agrees that this is true. The witness says he does not remember what he would have spoken to Fenech about.
The prosecution urges him to try to remember what he might have told him, emphasising that he imagines that this confrontation between Cremona and Fenech must have been quite memorable for the witness.
11:57 Prosecutors question Cremona about Theuma's recordings, noting that Theuma had told him he was recording Yorgen Fenech, though Cremona stated he did not know why. When the prosecutor asked when Cremona texted Yorgen Fenech on Signal to warn him that Theuma was recording him, Cremona confirmed that he had sent such a message but could not recall the exact date, adding that Fenech never replied.
11:48 Johann Cremona testifies that Melvin Theuma frequently confided in both him and Edgar Brincat, known as il-Ġojja. Cremona confirmed that Theuma stated he maintained contact with former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar through Brincat, contrasting with Cutajar's testimony from the previous day in which he claimed he did not know Theuma and that it was impossible Theuma had asked for him upon arrest.
11:39 The judge and jury returned to the courtroom to resume proceedings.
11:25 The sitting has been suspended for a short break.
11:20 Johann Cremona recalls a news report regarding an individual caught with diesel in Sicily who was subsequently named on ONE as being potentially involved in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, stating that he had brought this report up directly to Melvin Theuma. When asked if the story was true, Cremona explained that he would sometimes mention various names simply to calm Theuma down when he was feeling anxious. When prosecutors ask why he had never previously told the police or the inquiring magistrate about this specific story, Cremona maintains that if he had left it out, it was only because his testimony during the compilation of evidence had been cut short by the playing of audio recordings.
11:03 Johann Cremona testifies that Melvin Theuma would mention other individuals he claimed were involved and seemed to feel secure confiding in him. However, as media coverage of the murder investigation intensified, Theuma grew increasingly anxious and felt the spotlight turning toward him. Cremona stated that Theuma developed a fixation, fearing that "they would get rid of me" - which Cremona understood to mean he thought he would be killed - though Theuma never specified who he believed might target him.
10:43 The prosecution recapped Johann Cremona's previous evidence, confirming that when Melvin Theuma spoke about money for the Degiorgio brothers, he referred to Yorgen Fenech, and that Theuma had explicitly told him the order for the murder came from Fenech. When asked about Theuma's demeanor when discussing Fenech, Cremona states that his mood fluctuated, noting that he sometimes appeared calm while at other times he seemed desperate.
10:37 Johann Cremona tells the court that Melvin Theuma started visiting his garage in June 2018, eventually showing up almost daily. Cremona could not recall how much time passed before Theuma began discussing money for the Degiorgio brothers, but noted that when the subject of money arose, Theuma complained about being unable to reach Yorgen Fenech. When the prosecution asked for clarification on whether Theuma was mentioning Fenech alone at the time he spoke of funds for the Degiorgios, Cremona confirmed that he was.
10:32 Johann Cremona testifies that Melvin Theuma initially spoke to him about the Degiorgio brothers before later bringing up Yorgen Fenech. When asked by the prosecution who Theuma acted as a middleman for, Cremona stated that Theuma initially mentioned both Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri, but subsequently referred only to Fenech. After the prosecution highlighted that Cremona's previous statements consistently identified Fenech as the person Theuma named as giving the murder order, Cremona added that by 2019, Theuma was "putting everything on Yorgen Fenech" and constantly pressing him for updates regarding the progress of the police investigation.
10:14 Prosecutors continued questioning Johann Cremona regarding who Melvin Theuma had allegedly implicated in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, reading excerpts from Cremona's prior statements to clarify his testimony. Cremona reaffirms that Theuma told him Yorgen Fenech gave the order for the assassination. When questioned about funds intended for the Degiorgio brothers, Cremona stated that Theuma frequently mentioned he was going to contact Fenech to secure the money for them.
10:07 When prosecutors ask Johann Cremona if Melvin Theuma had remained consistent in his accounts, Cremona answered affirmatively. When directly asked if Theuma had stated who gave the order to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia, Cremona says, "He said Yorgen." Cremona also recalled a conversation involving a mention of 30,000 euros as a deposit. When asked about whether this occurred before or after the election, Cremona says it was before, and when asked about the status of the funds, he replies that it was a deposit.
10:03 Johann Cremona recounts that Melvin Theuma visited his garage at one point, looking visibly unwell and altered in appearance. When Cremona asked him what was wrong, Theuma replied, "They betrayed me. Yorgen Fenech and Keith Schembri betrayed me."
9:57 Johann Cremona testifies that after the three men gathered at a cafeteria near Castille, Kenneth Camilleri and Melvin Theuma walked away together. During this moment, Cremona overheard Theuma instruct Camilleri, "See what you can do and tell them to sort out bail for the Degiorgio brothers," leading him to suspect that Theuma was using Camilleri as a messenger to pass requests on to others. Regarding the timeline, Cremona noted that Theuma managed to reach Valletta within about ten minutes of their phone call, while Camilleri descended from his workplace at Castille, where he was employed as a security official in the Office of the Prime Minister.
9:51 Johann Cremona testifies that he could not make out the specific words spoken during the argument between Kenneth Camilleri and Melvin Theuma, and suspected from Theuma's angry reaction that he did not get what he wanted. Later that day, while Cremona was in Valletta, Theuma called to say he was outside the Qormi office before unexpectedly showing up in Valletta in person to ask for Camilleri's mobile number. Cremona called Camilleri, who informed them he was at Castille, leading the three men to meet at a nearby cafeteria.
9:47 Johann Cremona tells the court that at the time he drove Kenneth Camilleri to meet Melvin Theuma, he had no idea why Camilleri wanted to speak with him, though he understands the reason now. When asked if Camilleri discussed the meeting on the drive back, Cremona stated that Camilleri chose not to tell him anything. The following morning, Cremona found Camilleri waiting outside his Qormi office. The two went inside for coffee, and about half an hour later, Theuma arrived looking for Camilleri. Camilleri and Theuma then moved away to talk privately, during which Cremona noticed an argument escalating between them, heard swearing, and subsequently saw Theuma storm out of the office.
9:35 Cremona says that around May or June, Kenneth Camilleri - whom Cremona knew as a friend of his father from their time in the traffic police - called and asked to meet near Camilleri's home in Bulebel. Once they met, Camilleri got into Cremona's car and asked to be driven to see Melvin Theuma. Around 8pm or 9pm while en route, Cremona called Theuma to arrange the meeting without disclosing who was with him. Theuma subsequently texted his home address, and when they arrived, Theuma came out of his residence alone to meet them.
9:30 Johann Cremona testifies that he first became acquainted with Melvin Theuma around 2014 or 2015 when his business moved into an office in Qormi, noting that Theuma would visit every three months to collect rent cheques and describing their relationship as a normal one.
09:18 The prosecution has introduced the first witness, Johann Cremona.
Johann Cremona has taken the witness stand.
Cremona's name has surfaced repeatedly throughout the proceedings, most recently during the testimonies of both Edgar Brincat 'Il-Ġojja' and former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar.
A close associate of Fenech who also maintained contacts with self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma, Cremona is expected to face intense questioning from both the prosecution and defence regarding his role and interactions in the period surrounding the murder.
09:10 Another say of the Yorgen Fenech trial is about to start.