Prosecution Presents Case Against Yorgen Fenech in Court
The prosecution opened its case in the trial against Yorgen Fenech, explaining how the bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia was planned and ordered by the businessman.
Prosecution Presents Case Against Yorgen Fenech in Court
The jury in the trial against Yorgen Fenech heard the prosecution's version of events when the case concerning the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia officially resumed.
In his opening, prosecutor Anthony Vella outlined the case that the prosecution wishes to prove, emphasising that it is now up to the jury to evaluate the evidence that will be presented during the trial.
According to what was heard in court, Fenech gave instructions to Melvin Theuma in April 2017 to find someone to kill Caruana Galizia because she was about to publish information about his uncle Ray Fenech.
The prosecution said that Theuma, who had become a confidant of the Fenech family, met and organised a meeting with Alfred Degiorgio. At a key meeting in a potato shed in Marsa, Theuma allegedly told Degiorgio that someone wanted Caruana Galizia dead.
Two days later, Degiorgio allegedly offered a price of €150,000 for the assassination, with €30,000 as a deposit and the remainder after the killing. The prosecution says that Fenech approved this arrangement.
The plan allegedly was suspended when the 2017 general election was called. After the election, Fenech allegedly pressured Theuma to reactivate the plan and ensure that the killing happened as soon as possible, because Caruana Galizia was preparing information about him personally.
The initial payment of €30,000 allegedly was handed over during a meeting at Busy Bee in Msida and was divided equally between Alfred Degiorgio, George Degiorgio and Vince Muscat. The three men allegedly spent weeks surveilling Caruana Galizia's movements around her home in Bidnija.
The prosecution said they purchased phones and SIM cards that could not access the internet in order to avoid being discovered. The bomb that was used allegedly was acquired by Robert Agius, Adrian Agius (from Maksar) and Jamie Vella.
On the night between 15 and 16 October 2017, the killers allegedly placed an explosive device under the driver's seat of Caruana Galizia's Peugeot 108. The bomb could be activated by a text message sent via a telephone.
Shortly before 3pm on 16 October, Caruana Galizia left her home in Bidnija to go to a bank appointment. Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat allegedly monitored her departure before informing George Degiorgio, who was on his boat Maya outside the Grand Harbour. The prosecution says that George Degiorgio sent the text message that led to the explosion that killed the journalist.
Vella also explained how criminal investigations are conducted, with evidence being gathered through a magisterial inquiry before being presented in court. He displayed archive boxes in the courtroom containing years of evidence gathered during the investigation.
Source: Lovin Malta
Source: Lovin Malta