The defence will begin presenting its case on the 45th day of Yorgen Fenech's trial after the prosecution formally rested its case on Thursday evening, bringing weeks of evidence to a close following emotional testimony from the victim's son, Andrew Caruana Galizia.
The defence will now begin presenting its case.
Fenech 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, Giannella 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.
Please refresh for updates
9:24 Judge Edwina Grima suspended the sitting and instructed court expert Martin Bajada to retrieve the recording of the site visit. The court needs to verify whether a disputed question raised by the defence was actually asked during the visit and should be formally included in the official record.
The background to this dispute stems from the November 2019 search of Keith Schembri's villa in Mellieħa, which has been a contentious issue throughout the trial. Earlier in the proceedings, jurors heard testimony from two scene-of-crime officers stating that during a second search of the property, superior officers instructed them to seize only the electronic devices specifically pointed out by Schembri. Both Schembri and Inspector Kurt Zahra previously maintained that the primary electronic devices had already been successfully seized during an earlier search.
9:15 The judge instructs her deputy to check the audio recording of the site visit. She noted that the disputed question would likely have little impact on the official record since scene-of-crime officer Michelle Camilleri had already testified under oath in the proceedings. The judge added that if expert Martin Bajada had the recording, the court might need to suspend the sitting until it could be brought to the courtroom.
9:10 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca addresses Judge Edwina Grima regarding the official record of the site visits, requesting that the transcript explicitly include a specific question he had previously put to scene-of-crime officer Michelle Camilleri concerning who was present during the search of Keith Schembri's villa.
9:05 The court is in session.