Inspector Kurt Zahra told jurors on Monday that Yorgen Fenech had received an alleged "script" from Keith Schembri through doctor Adrian Vella, who later told investigators that he saw Fenech crossing out parts of it and complaining that Schembri was "indoctrinating" him on what to say.

In the trial by jury of Yorgen Fenech, Inspector Zahra also said that Vella told investigators that Schembri had also reassured Fenech that police would not arrest him, while Fenech claimed the pair had devised a plan to take him to Gozo and help him flee as lawyers were sought for him.

Zahra spent much of the afternoon retracing the murder investigation for jurors, from the first hours after Caruana Galizia's assassination to the identification of the three hitmen, the emergence of Melvin Theuma as a suspect and, eventually, the arrests of Fenech and Schembri.

Zahra recounted what Fenech told investigators following his arrest in November 2019, although the defence objected to having an interrogating officer select parts of his statement to relay to jurors.

Judge Edwina Grima ruled that Zahra could outline what had emerged from the investigation but could not offer his own interpretation of Fenech's statement, noting that the recording itself remained the best evidence. Jurors will watch the audiovisual recording of Fenech's interrogation on Tuesday.

According to Zahra, Fenech initially sought to avoid investigators' questions and repeatedly shifted the discussion towards matters he wanted to raise, at one point accusing police of following a "script" provided by a corrupt government.

Investigators repeatedly steered questioning back towards Caruana Galizia's murder.

Zahra said Fenech initially withheld information about Schembri because they were close friends, but began revealing more after feeling betrayed by him. He claimed Schembri had given him between €75,000 and €80,000 in a Reebok bag to pay for Caruana Galizia's murder.

Fenech told police that the murder plot had originated with Schembri and recounted a conversation at his Żebbuġ ranch involving Schembri and Theuma, during which Caruana Galizia's writings about Schembri and his illness were discussed.

According to Fenech's account, Theuma later told him while driving him home: "We can get rid of her quickly," before referring him to three associates.

Fenech claimed Theuma devised the murder plan with those three associates and subsequently informed Schembri. According to Fenech, Schembri responded: "Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead."

He also claimed that Theuma later told him he had already paid €30,000 towards the murder. Fenech said he eventually gave Theuma €50,000 because he did not want him to lose his money, while also claiming that he felt threatened by Theuma.

Zahra said Fenech further alleged that Schembri had paid €30,000 towards an earlier plot to murder Caruana Galizia, around a year and a half after Labour came to power in 2013. That plan, according to Fenech's account, never materialised.

Earlier, Zahra took jurors back to 16 October 2017, when he was informed that a car had exploded in Bidnija.

By the time he reached the scene, the fire had been extinguished but smoke was still rising from the vehicle. Zahra recalled seeing tyre marks and debris scattered around the area, later realising that some of what he initially believed to be debris was a mixture of metal fragments and human remains.

Investigators began door-to-door inquiries, with witness Frans Sant telling Zahra he had heard "a small explosion, then a scream, then a big explosion" before seeing Caruana Galizia's car leave the road and enter a field.

Another witness, Carmen Wallace Sammut, told police she had previously seen a small white car containing people in the area. Investigators later found a cigarette butt at the viewpoint from which she had seen it.

The FBI arrived in Malta three days after the murder and began analysing mobile phone data and antenna locations. Investigators established that the bomb had been placed beneath Caruana Galizia's seat and detonated through a message reading "REM1=ON".

Three burner phones were identified and their activity traced to the Marsa potato shed. Investigators eventually concluded that the bomb had been planted in Caruana Galizia's car at around 12.40am on the night before her murder.

The investigation led police to Alfred and George Degiorgio and Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu. George Degiorgio's burner phone was traced to the boat Maya while it was at sea, while DNA recovered from cigarette butts near the murder scene was linked to Muscat.

The three men were arrested in December 2017.

Yet despite the evidence gathered, investigators were still missing a fundamental part of the case."We could not find a motive to kill Daphne," Zahra told jurors.

Police believed the three were involved in serious criminal activity but had yet to establish who, if anyone, had commissioned the assassination.

The investigation entered another phase after the three men were charged, with police asking for the magisterial inquiry to be reopened because they suspected others were involved.

A breakthrough came in April 2018, when Muscat asked through his lawyer to speak to lead investigator Keith Arnaud.

Muscat told police he had driven Alfred Degiorgio to the Busy Bee café, where Degiorgio met Theuma.

Police subsequently placed Theuma under surveillance and began intercepting his calls. Zahra said investigators overheard him arguing with a man they later identified as Fenech. They also heard Theuma saying he was secretly recording Fenech and paying €100 a week to each of the Degiorgio brothers and Muscat while they were in prison.

Rather than arrest Theuma at that stage, the Economic Crimes Unit opened a separate investigation into suspected illegal gambling and money laundering. He was eventually arrested on 14 November 2019.

Immediately after his arrest, Theuma told investigators he had a box of material which he would only open in the presence of then-police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, a magistrate and his lawyers.

When the box was opened, police found three mobile phones, an image of a message from a contact saved as "Yorgin", photographs with Schembri, rolled-up papers, pen drives and a recording device.

Theuma offered to disclose what he knew about the murder in return for a presidential pardon and began giving investigators his account on 19 November.

He told police that around three weeks before the 2017 general election, Fenech had asked him to approach George Degiorgio about killing Caruana Galizia, allegedly because she was going to publish information about Fenech's uncle Ray.

Theuma instead approached Alfred Degiorgio, with the price eventually set at €150,000: €30,000 upfront and €120,000 after the murder.

According to Theuma, the plot was halted when the 2017 general election was called and revived after Labour's victory. He claimed Fenech then gave him €150,000 to pay the Degiorgios.

Theuma also told investigators that the Degiorgios initially struggled to track Caruana Galizia's movements and that Fenech told him she frequented a cafeteria in Naxxar. That information was passed to Alfred Degiorgio.

After the murder, Theuma said he paid Degiorgio the outstanding €120,000 and another €5,000 for binoculars.

He told investigators that he began secretly recording Fenech because he feared the businessman might have him killed and wanted material with which he could protect himself.

Theuma also claimed that Fenech learnt Muscat had spoken to Arnaud just two days after their meeting, information Theuma said he then passed to the Degiorgio brothers in prison.

Zahra also referred to Signal messages recovered from Theuma's material. In an exchange on 13 November 2019, the day before Theuma's arrest, he asked Fenech to delay his arrest and speak to "the one from Luqa", which Zahra said referred to Cutajar.

Theuma was granted a presidential pardon on 25 November after investigators corroborated parts of his account with information from Muscat and evidence gathered during the investigation.

The previous day, doctor Adrian Vella had visited Fenech carrying documents which he said Schembri had given him to deliver.

Vella was arrested early on 26 November and told investigators about communications between Fenech and Schembri, including alleged reassurances from Schembri that Fenech would not be arrested.

According to Fenech's statement, Vella and Schembri had earlier devised a plan to take him to Gozo and help him escape while lawyers were found for him. Fenech said he had also been given a phone without a SIM card containing only Signal.

Vella denied helping Fenech escape and instead said Fenech's brother Franco had spoken about private jets and Mexico.

Schembri was arrested on 26 November, the same day he resigned as chief of staff.

Zahra also defended the police search of Schembri's Mellieħa home, insisting that he and Arnaud had carried out a proper search that morning.

His account differed from testimony heard last month, when two scene-of-crime officers said investigators had instructed them to seize only electronic devices identified or "flagged" by Schembri himself rather than conduct a conventional search.

Monday's morning sitting, meanwhile, had been dominated by legal arguments over what evidence could be presented to jurors.

The main dispute arose during the testimony of Inspector Sean Friggieri, who had investigated financial matters following Fenech's arrest.

The defence argued that the prosecution was seeking to introduce evidence concerning unrelated alleged crimes and investigations, potentially prejudicing Fenech by suggesting involvement in other offences. He asked the court to restrict Friggieri's evidence to matters on which he had already testified during the inquiry.

Prosecution lawyer Anthony Vella rejected the objections, arguing that Friggieri had already testified during the inquiry and that the documents on which he had worked formed part of the case exhibits. He maintained that a witness could not be artificially restricted to the precise wording of previous testimony and should be allowed to give a full account of the findings of an official investigation.

Judge Grima ruled that Friggieri could not testify about investigations unrelated to the murder case or matters which could indicate that Fenech faced separate criminal proceedings.

She similarly blocked evidence concerning former police anti-money laundering chief Raymond Aquilina, who is separately charged with money laundering and corruption alongside Fenech, ruling that the investigation formed part of a separate pending criminal case.

Later, another objection concerned documents taken from the so-called ice cream box. The judge directed the prosecution to proceed by having Friggieri confirm the testimony he had previously given during the magisterial inquiry, rather than expanding beyond the parameters of that evidence.

Proceedings resume on Tuesday, when jurors are expected to watch the audiovisual recording of Fenech's police interrogation.