The defence of Yorgen Fenech is expected to continue its oral submissions to jurors on Wednesday morning, after the prosecution brought his cross-examination to a close following three days of intense questioning.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini ended his cross-examination with a challenge to Fenech, telling him: "Who are you trying to fool? These are all your fingerprints on the case."
Fenech denied the accusation.
Soon after, defence lawyer Charles Mercieca began addressing jurors, shifting the focus away from Fenech's testimony and onto what the defence says are serious weaknesses in the prosecution's 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.
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9:45 Mercieca turns his attention to the mobile phone belonging to Keith Schembri, arguing before the jury that this crucial piece of evidence was never seized by authorities.
Nothing was done, he said, questioning how a fair investigation could be conducted or how the defence could properly respond when such critical evidence was left untouched. Mercieca pointed out that just one week after a search was conducted at Schembri's residence, he was spotted at the Auberge de Castille holding his phone openly in his hand.
Schembri felt entirely emboldened in the presence of the investigators handling the case, Mercieca told the jury, framing this omission as just one example in a pattern of intentional shortcomings that undermined the integrity of the police probe.
9:39 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca pressed on with his address to the jury, punching holes in the prosecution's narrative and reminding the panel that an accused person enjoys the fundamental presumption of innocence. He stressed that the burden of proof rests entirely on the state, noting that the defence is under no legal obligation to prove anything.
Mercieca argued that the prosecution had repeatedly fallen short by failing to substantiate key allegations with independent evidence. Specifically, he pointed out that investigators neglected to produce vital call logs to corroborate Melvin Theuma's assertions regarding calls he claimed to have received.
"Is this because they are incompetent, in awe of power, or obsessed with Fenech?" Mercieca asked the jurors, questioning the thoroughness and motivations behind the state's investigation.
9:29 Mercieca then focuses on someone whose name surfaced repeatedly during the trial but who never took the witness stand - Mario Degiorgio, brother of Alfred and George Degiorgio.
"Why wasn't he summoned by prosecutors?" Mercieca asks, suggesting they knew he was lying and feared this would be exposed before the jury.
He also points out that Theuma's stepdaughter, who featured in several messages and conversations involving Theuma heard during the trial, was never called to testify.
9:26 Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca resumed his address to the jury, shifting focus to the laptop belonging to Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Mercieca reminded the jurors that at the inception of the murder investigation in October 2017, law enforcement officials had stressed that the laptop was a vital piece of evidence that could shed light on the motive behind the assassination. However, he noted that by December 2019, investigators abruptly dismissed its importance on the grounds that her published blog entries remained accessible online.
Pointing to a formal request for the device made in 2018, Mercieca directed the jury's attention to correspondence from German authorities indicating that the journalist's family had requested the deletion of the data contained on the computer.
"If we want justice, why would I delete the laptop data?" Mercieca asked the courtroom, arguing that this incident formed part of a broader pattern of questionable actions that introduced heavy doubts into the prosecution's case.
9:15 Judge Edwina Grima is in the courtoom.