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A murder trial in Malta heard this week that the killing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia may have been connected to her investigation into suspected government corruption, as her son took the stand to describe the day she died and the work she was doing at the time.

Matthew Caruana Galizia, a software engineer who was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the Panama Papers investigation, told the jury that his mother was murdered while her investigation into a company partially owned by the defendant, businessman Yorgen Fenech, was still ongoing, according to a report by The Guardian.

Fenech, heir to one of Malta's largest fortunes, is on trial for murder, accused of commissioning and paying for Caruana Galizia's killing in a car bombing in October 2017.

Coverage Comparison

Two news organisations provided coverage of the trial: The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post. Both reported that Matthew Caruana Galizia testified that his mother was murdered while her investigation into Electogas was ongoing, and that the murder may be related to her investigation of the Maltese government for suspected corruption. The Guardian's reporting focuses on Matthew's testimony about the investigation and the corruption allegations, including quotes from a comment by Daphne about senior politicians. The Jerusalem Post reports the same core facts but also includes Matthew's description of the day of the murder and notes that he had contacted The Guardian before her death. A separate Guardian report covers the testimony of key witness Melvin Theuma, who claims Fenech ordered the killing to protect his uncle and texted him about preparing champagne.

Both outlets agree on the central claim that Fenech is accused of ordering the assassination in a 2017 car bombing. The Guardian provides more detail on the background of the investigation, while the Jerusalem Post adds the detail about the thousands of emails discovered on Electogas's servers.

Key Claims

  • Murder linked to corruption investigation: Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder may be related to her investigation of the Maltese government for suspected corruption, as reported by both The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post.
  • Fenech accused of ordering assassination: Yorgen Fenech is accused of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination in a 2017 car bombing, as reported by both The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post.
  • Investigation ongoing at time of death: Matthew Caruana Galizia told the jury that his mother was murdered while her investigation into Electogas was ongoing, as reported by both outlets.
  • Emails on Electogas servers: Matthew Caruana Galizia discovered thousands of emails on Electogas's servers, including apparent evidence of Fenech intending to bribe the Maltese government, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.
  • Theuma's testimony: Melvin Theuma testified that Yorgen Fenech told him to contact a known criminal to set up the killing, as reported by The Guardian.
  • Text about champagne: Yorgen Fenech texted Melvin Theuma saying he was 'preparing champagne' to celebrate the murder, as reported by The Guardian.

Court hears of 'portal' into corruption

Matthew Caruana Galizia described being drawn into helping his mother with her work, saying that as more facts came to light, it seemed to him a 'portal' had opened and he could 'see into hell', as reported by The Guardian.

In 2015, he said, he was working on the Panama Papers leak, uploading millions of files into a database that reporters were using to investigate tax havens. While processing the files, he found information directly relevant to Malta. 'I had to share what I was seeing with my mother. I believed it was too important,' he told the jury.

Over time, material from the leak and Daphne's own sources produced evidence that Malta's then energy minister, Konrad Mizzi, and the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, had set up offshore companies soon after entering office, Matthew said. A firm of accountants was helping them to open bank accounts in the name of those companies.

The jury was shown a comment left by Daphne in early 2017 under a newspaper article about the minister and the chief of staff. She wrote: 'How unbelievably corrupt they are – and worse still, they were not tempted into corruption when they were already jaded in power, but actually got into power with the express purpose of being corrupt. It was their roadmap.'

At the time of her death in 2017, Matthew said, he had been helping his mother process another significant cache of documents. According to the Jerusalem Post, Matthew discovered thousands of emails on Electogas's servers, including apparent evidence of Fenech intending to bribe the Maltese government.

Witness claims accused ordered killing to protect uncle

In a separate development, a key witness in the case, taxi driver Melvin Theuma, took the stand on Friday to begin his testimony, according to a report by The Guardian. Theuma, who has been living under witness protection since agreeing to testify in return for a pardon, said Fenech had told him to contact a known criminal and set up the killing because he wanted to protect his uncle Raymond Fenech, the head of the family business.

'Bring him here, I need him to kill Daphne because she's going to publish information about Uncle Ray,' Theuma claimed Fenech had told him, as reported by The Guardian.

Theuma has previously testified that over time the explanation changed, and the hit was designed to stop revelations about Yorgen himself. The conversation took place in April 2017. The two men were friends, having known each other for years, although Theuma told the jury that it was not an equal relationship. 'He's a lion and I'm a mosquito,' Theuma said of the accused.

The taxi driver, who had cultivated a friendship with Fenech over a shared interest in horseracing and betting, is regarded by the prosecution as key to securing a conviction. He has given police multiple recordings of conversations he had with Fenech, The Guardian reported.

Accused texted 'preparing champagne' from boat

The businessman accused of paying for hitmen to murder the journalist was impatient for the killing to take place, and once texted from his boat to say he was 'preparing champagne' to celebrate, a jury in Malta has heard, as reported by The Guardian.

Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes several Hilton hotels, is on trial in Malta for complicity in the murder of Caruana Galizia. She died in a car bombing in October 2017 after publishing a series of revelations about senior politicians that were so damaging they triggered a snap general election.

The key witness, a taxi driver who says he acted as middleman between Fenech and three men already convicted of accepting €150,000 (£128,000) to carry out the killing, took the stand on Friday to begin his testimony.

Son describes moment of explosion

Matthew Caruana Galizia described the moment he heard the explosion that killed his mother, according to a report by The Guardian.

'I was working on some software, and I heard an explosion,' he said. 'I opened the door, I felt the blood drain away… I started walking faster and faster towards the tower of smoke.'

'First I saw fire on the road,' he continued. 'I saw pieces of metal and flesh. My eyes followed the smoke, and I saw a huge ball of fire. I ran towards it. The horn was going off; it wouldn't stop. I saw a shadow in the car, and I remember saying, "That's my mom."'

Matthew Caruana Galizia had contacted the Guardian prior to his mother's murder to begin collaboration on the investigation, but instead began a project to bring her killers to justice, according to a report by the Jerusalem Post.

The company in question, 'Electogas,' was being investigated at the time of Daphne's death, and the murder may be related to her investigation of the country's government for suspected corruption, her son told the jury, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Perspectives

  • Prosecution's perspective: The testimony of Matthew Caruana Galizia and Melvin Theuma supports the case that Fenech ordered the murder to stop revelations about corruption involving senior politicians and his family business. Theuma's recordings and the 'preparing champagne' text are presented as evidence of Fenech's involvement and impatience.
  • Defense's perspective: The defense has not yet presented its case, and the reports do not include any statements from Fenech or his legal team. The trial is ongoing, and the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.