Court hears evidence on damaged phone and car of Daphne Caruana Galizia in trial against Yorgen Fenech
On the ninth day of the jury trial against Yorgen Fenech, officials from the Environmental and Injuries Squad presented evidence concerning the car and phone of the late journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Court hears evidence on damaged phone and car of Daphne Caruana Galizia in trial against Yorgen Fenech
On the ninth day of the jury trial against Yorgen Fenech, who is being accused of the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, traumatic evidence was presented to the jury in the Court of Law in Valletta.
In the morning, officials from the Environmental and Injuries Squad took to the stand to explain how investigators examined Caruana Galizia's Peugeot 108, which had been destroyed by a bomb. The vehicle was kept in a secure, locked location, where only court-appointed experts could view it. Each time examinations were carried out over three different days, the lock was opened, the car was examined, and then it was locked again.
Constable Clinton Vella stated that police broke an identical car to compare it with the destroyed one and identify any "foreign" parts that could have been from the explosive. One of the key points raised was that the car's handbrake was found pulled back by the force of the explosion, proving that the bomb had been placed under the driver's seat.
Half an hour later, Vella returned to speak about Daphne's phone, which was found near the wreckage of the burnt-out car. The phone, which was severely damaged, was sent to the Dutch Forensic Institute for preservation work on key components, and returned to Malta a month later. The device itself was presented as an exhibit in court.
Whilst the courtroom fell silent when these objects were shown, weeping could be heard from outside the courtroom, as one of Daphne's sisters left abruptly through the windows.
The trial against Yorgen Fenech for the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia continues, with ongoing updates from Lovin Malta.
Source: Lovin Malta