Superintendent Antoine Cilia testifies about scene of Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination in trial against Yorgen Fenech
On the seventh day of proceedings against Yorgen Fenech, Superintendent Antoine Cilia testified before the court about the events of 16 October 2017 when Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a bomb explosion.
Superintendent Antoine Cilia testifies about scene of Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination in trial against Yorgen Fenech
On the seventh day of proceedings against Yorgen Fenech, Superintendent Antoine Cilia – who in 2017 was an inspector with the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU) – testified before the court about the events of 16 October 2017 when Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in a bomb explosion.
Cilia said he was in his office when the radio message arrived that someone had seen a car explode and catch fire, and that there was a person inside. He noted that he had only four patrol cars available that day, all stationed at the RIU headquarters in Ta' Kandja.
The first witness was a police officer who was among the first to arrive at the scene. This officer said he spoke to Matthew Caruana Galizia, who informed him that his mother was inside the car. The officer explained that they approached the vehicle, but it was clear that nothing could be done to save the person inside. The car was engulfed in flames and extinguishing it with fire extinguishers was not sufficient.
Cilia himself arrived at the scene at 3:19pm after leaving at 3:08pm. He described seeing a lot of debris at the site, with the car in a crater and officials from the Civil Protection Department controlling the flames. He also mentioned the crater that was created in the road by the bomb.
The forward officer reported that only one official had entered the crater where the car was burning. Cilia confirmed that there was debris from the car and flesh from the corpse on the roads. He spoke about an argument that took place there between Matthew Caruana Galizia and a man named Mario Vella, where Matthew was saying that Vella had taken photographs of his mother.
Cilia described the body in the car as completely burnt, with only bones visible. The vehicle had suffered extensive damage, with the roof blown off and debris scattered everywhere. It was clear that a bomb had exploded, Cilia said.
Members of the Armed Forces and the bomb unit arrived later at the scene, which was then handed over to them. Cilia remained at the site until Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera arrived, and left shortly after.
The court was shown photographs taken by Cilia at the scene, including a black-and-white image showing the body inside the car, and a photograph of a large part of the body found outside the car, near the entrance to the crater. Cilia said he could not say which part of the body it was.
The proceedings continued with the cross-examination by defence lawyer Giannella De Marco of Inspector Kurt Arnaud. De Marco returned to the question of Keith Schembri, where Arnaud confirmed that the former Prime Minister's Chief of Staff never told the police that he knew Melvin Theuma personally – even when Theuma's presidential pardon was being discussed. Arnaud also said that Theuma initially did not tell the police that he knew Schembri.
De Marco asked Arnaud about the Datatrak records mentioned by the superintendent. Cilia explained that these are live data from RIU vehicles. When asked whether the system was installed in all police cars, Cilia said he believes it is today, but not in 2017. RIU cars had the system at that time.
De Marco asked whether the police commissioner's car had the tracking system. Cilia said he had no information about that. She also asked about who ordered specific patrols, and Cilia replied that such orders come from the commissioner or an inspector.
The proceedings were postponed by Judge Edwina Grima until 3pm.
Source: Lovin Malta
Source: Lovin Malta