Theuma back on the witness stand as Fenech trial enters day 34
The trial by jury of businessman Yorgen Fenech has entered its 34th day, with self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma taking the stand for the second day running
In Friday’s sitting, Theuma told jurors that he began secretly recording the businessman because he feared betrayal and believed only the recordings could protect him, saying: “He’s a lion and I’m a mosquito.”
He gave a detailed account of the plot to assassinate journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, consistently identifying businessman Yorgen Fenech as the sole mastermind behind the 2017 car bombing.
Yorgen Fenech, a businessman, 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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18:08: That concludes yet another dramatic sitting in Yorgen Fenech’s jury trial.
We will be publishing a summary of the proceedings shortly.
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18:08: Melvin Theuma (on tape): “How am I going to live with it on my conscience that something happened-that it happened all because of me?”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What were you referring to when you spoke about your conscience?”
Melvin Theuma: “I was referring to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Whoever needs to take the blame, must take it.”
Theuma (addressing the court): “Yorgen Fenech has had enough of filing legal actions to try and take back my presidential pardon. I will win them, of course.”
In another part of a recording, there is another reference to Keith Schembri.
Fenech is heard telling Theuma: “I asked [Keith], did I do something wrong? He told me: ‘As if! But you should have bloody told me before’.” Theuma says that this meant that Fenech should have told Schembri before the murder.
18:04: Recorded audio played to jurors highlights Yorgen Fenech’s reaction to the massive public demonstrations following the 2017 assassination, alongside his assessment of political hostility toward the slain journalist.
On tape, Fenech is heard remarking that activists and protesters “made her look like Mary Magdalene.”
From the witness stand, Melvin Theuma confirms that Fenech was referring directly to the wave of protests demanding justice dealing with Caruana Galizia’s assassination.
Fenech then dismisses the scale of public sympathy, asserting on tape that “only 4,000 people in Malta are behind Daphne, the rest are all against her.”
Fenech further points to opposition leader Adrian Delia to argue how isolated her supporters were, stating that even Delia was actively attacking her and her family at the time.
17:53: Theuma links the Degiorgio brothers to the 2014 murder of Jonathan Pace, the former owner of Tyson Butcher who was shot while standing on a balcony in Fgura.
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “They gave Koħħu a discount on the Jonathan Pace job…”
Melvin Theuma: “Yorgen told me that the Degiorgio brothers gave Koħħu a €2,000 discount for the hit-charging him €8,000 instead of €10,000 to kill him.”
17:45: The witness details how defence lawyer William Cuschieri, appearing for the Degiorgios, created an opportunity for them to ask Vince Muscat regarding the case.
Melvin Theuma: “During a prison vist, William Cuschieri went to the bathroom on purpose so the Degiorgios could talk to Vince Muscat and ask him if he was exposing them.”
17:41: Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What do you know about Arthur Azzopardi’s involvement with Vince Muscat’s presidential pardon?”
Melvin Theuma: “What I know is that, regarding the presidential pardon, Johann was instructed to threaten Arthur Azzopardi over the pardon. Johann and I were at the garage, and Johann told two people to threaten Arthur Azzopardi so il-Koħħu would not take the pardon.”
Cini: “What happened as a result of those threats?”
Theuma: “Because of this, Arthur Azzopardi dropped Muscat as his client. From what I know, Vince [Muscat] did not accept 12 years in prison at the time.”
17:33: Melvin Theuma issues a formal correction regarding his morning testimony.
Theuma clarifies to the court that when detailing past discussions concerning judicial decisions, he mistakenly named Judge Mizzi as Judge Grixti.
Theuma confirms that his intended reference throughout that exchange was Judge Mizzi.
17:32: Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “In these matters, you have three levels. There are the worst under the law [referring to hitmen Alfred ‘il-Fulu’, Vince ‘il-Koħħu’ Muscat, and George ‘iċ-Ċiniż’], one is in the middle [referring to Melvin Theuma], and this one [referring to himself]. The first gets ten, this one gets seven, and this one gets five.”
Theuma states that he believes Fenech referred to years in prison, testifying that the accused thought he deserved seven years in prison, with Theuma deserving five years.
Fenech (on tape): “I am not malicious, I am not like her.”
Theuma (on tape): “I know.”
Fenech (on tape): “Like her-I would throw her to her death with my own hands, and I won’t regret it!”
Theuma (clarifying from the stand): “That conversation took place at Level 21 in Portomaso, and Yorgen was referring to Daphne Caruana Galizia.”
17:25: Melvin Theuma (recalling Fenech’s words): “Yorgen told me they were furious, Joseph [Muscat] and everyone-Joseph Muscat and Keith Schembri. This broke them politically, her death.”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “How did her death break them?”
Theuma: “This broke them politically-her reporting, writing about them.”
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “She broke them.”
17:19: Melvin Theuma: “Even after she died, he still wanted to kill her. Yorgen said, ‘I would throw her from the balcony to her death. (Qalli ‘bħal dik inwaddabha minn hawn għal isfel jien.’)
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Why was Keith Schembri crying, according to your testimony?”
Theuma: “Yorgen told me that Keith Schembri was crying because investigators caught the Degiorgio brothers and Koħħu in connection with the bomb.”
Cini: “Can you clarify what you told Johann Cremona about this?”
Theuma: “I told Johann Cremona that Keith Schembri was crying because they were going to catch the Degiorgios before they killed Daphne Caruana Galizia. What I meant-and what matches the recording-is that Yorgen told me Keith was crying because police were closing in on them after Daphne was killed.”
17:11: The court listens to recordings revealing Keith Schembri’s reaction upon learning of the assassination and Vince Muscat’s disclosures regarding the HSBC heist and bomb assembly.
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “Keith told me: ‘I would walk into the fire for you’ [nidħol fin-nar għalik]. I trust Keith more than Silvio Valletta. The truth is the truth-when I told him [Keith] regarding the homicide, he froze.”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What was Vince Muscat [il-Koħħu] allegedly telling investigators?”
Melvin Theuma: “Koħħu said the only thing he wouldn’t talk about was the HSBC heist because ‘there are powerful people’ involved. But he was going to testify about seven murders, including where Daphne’s bomb was made, in a garage in Ħaż-Żebbuġ.”
Godwin Cini: “Yorgen says on tape: ‘I have no other way.’ What did he mean?”
Theuma: “Because she was killed-it was already done.”
17:07: Before the jurors enter, the defence opposes to the prosecution’s examination, pressing on the fact that the prosecutor is reading from the transcript, and expecting the witness to build on what was said.
“A fill in the blank exercise,” defence lawyer Charles Mercieca says.
Prosecutor Anthony Vella denies any allegation regarding such, maintaining that the prosecution is referring the witness to transcripts which are considered as admissible evidence in the bills of indictment.
The court had already dealt with such situation, stating that the prosecution should read the transcript and ask, without providing their interpretation, regarding such.
16:57: Judge Edwina Grima has re-entered Hall 22.
The jurors have yet to enter the courtroom.
16:27: The court will take a quick 15-minute break.
The sitting is expected to resume at 4:45pm.
16:27: Melvin Theuma (explaining from the stand): “The cherry on the cake would have been if I had continued on with what Yorgen was saying. I intentionally brought up the bail situation again.”
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “I can’t even tell you I’m trying. I cannot do anything! What should I do? Go to the judge and tell him I killed her?”
Theuma: “Yorgen once told me he felt ‘trapped between four walls’ (maqbud bejn erba’ ħitan). He told me, ‘I executed the Electrogas deal perfectly, but I cannot escape this murder problem.'”
Theuma (on tape): “So, what is he going to do?”
YF: “I don’t know, I don’t know.”
16:21: Theuma maintains that the first time he ever met Keith Schembri was at the ranch.
During this meeting, Theuma shook Schembri’s hand, as well as his driver’s.
In the audio recording, Yorgen can be heared telling Theuma that Keith said he hadn’t even gotten out of his own court cases, let alone this one.
Theuma maintains that Keith Schembri had three ongoing court cases at that time.
16:11: A recording played in open court brings the highest tiers of government directly into focus as Melvin Theuma breaks down taped references to Cabinet deliberations.
According to the same audio recording between Fenech and Theuma, the witness clarifies that the conversation revolved around the Cabinet session tasked with assessing hitman Vince Muscat’s (il-Koħħu) presidential pardon.
Theuma tells jurors that Yorgen Fenech claimed Keith Schembri was actively leaking confidential updates from those proceedings to former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta.
The recording contains explicit references to: former minister Chris Cardona, former justice minister and now Lands Minister Owen Bonnici, and former prime minister Joseph Muscat.
Joseph Muscat is referred to as “ix-Xiħ” throughout the recordings.
Keith Arnaud is also implicated during the discussion.
15:59: The court hears how Yorgen Fenech, Johann Cremona, and Silvio Valletta panicked when Melvin Theuma went off the grid, fearing he was leaking information.
Melvin Theuma (explaining from the stand): “I once drank heavily and switched off my phone. Johann and Yorgen panicked that I was somewhere spilling details to someone. Yorgen was so worried I would expose him that he even checked Mater Dei Hospital to see if I was there.”
15:50: Melvin Theuma (on tape): “I want this issue regarding Keith sorted out.”
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “For me, he doesn’t have the power to do it if he asks me-that is what he told me.”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “He doesn’t have the power to amend what, Mr Theuma?”
Theuma: “He doesn’t have the power to fix this whole thing regarding Daphne.”
15:47: Theuma breaks down as he explains recorded remarks where Yorgen Fenech dismisses his financial worries and advises cutting ties with the hitmen.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “You were talking about something else on the tape-you told him it’s not about the property you have, taxis, your flat, these little things. Can you explain?”
Melvin Theuma: “Yorgen told me to abandon the Degiorgios, to have nothing to do with them. Yorgen would obviously say such a thing because he never met them directly-but I knew them.”
Theuma pauses and sniffs on the stand, visibly emotional.
Theuma: “At the time, I thought he was going to abandon me as well.”
15:38: Melvin Theuma (on tape): “You know what these want? You know what these want? Bail!”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What was happening at this point in time?”
Theuma: “Mario Degiorgio was continuously telling me about their bail, that they cannot stick being in prison and so on.
The recording is resumed.
MT (on tape): “If the 22nd arrives and they are handed bail, I am ready to cut them off if they ask for money again.”
The bail promised on the 22nd never happened.
GC: “Was there a reason that you did not cut them off while in prison?”
MT: “They were still inside, bail would have been different.”
15:28: Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What bothered you the most, Mr Theuma, out of all this?”
Melvin Theuma: “This bail issue with the Degiorgios, the remorse, the money going back and forth with Yorgen… how much can a person’s mind take?”
15:27: Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “Those two can never pin it on you-you are their salvation.”
Melvin Theuma (clarifying from the stand): “He said I was their salvation because I was giving them money.”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Did you believe Yorgen when he said that?”
Theuma shakes his head.
With a grunt, he says, “No… because the other person still exposed me.”
Theuma is referring to Vince Muscat, also known as il-Koħħu.
On the recording, the word “betrayal” is repeatedly shouted as Theuma and Fenech raise their voices, loudly talking over one another.
15:23: A voice message played in open court reveals Yorgen Fenech instructing Melvin Theuma to warn the hitmen about police leaks.
As the audio recording plays in court, Yorgen Fenech can be heard telling Melvin Theuma to warn the Degiorgio brothers about the details Vince Muscat [il-Koħħu] is leaking to investigators.
Theuma raises his hand to interject: “Madam Justice, regarding ‘the rest of the money’ mentioned in that recording-apart from the €30,000-the rest refers to the €150,000 directly to the Degiorgios.”
15:16: Melvin Theuma (on tape): “To this day, you have nothing to worry about. Because if they need to reach a conclusion, I will be in the midst of it.”
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “But the person who fixes the situation is not equal to the person who carried out the act. How do they know these things?”
Theuma clarifies that those ‘things’ refer to the information Vince Muscat was sharing with the police.
Theuma (on tape): “Regarding Vince, it isn’t true. I’m telling you; it isn’t true.”
Fenech (on tape): “Then how do they know about the potato shed? How do they know you met at Busy Bee?”
15:15: The prosecution plays a recording exposing the mistrust between Yorgen Fenech and Melvin Theuma over secret recordings.
Melvin Theuma (explaining from the stand): “When the tape mentions Johann getting to know ‘the other side of the story,’ the ‘other side’ refers to Kenneth Camilleri.”
Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “Did you not tell me about Johann?”
Theuma (on tape): “I did not.”
Fenech (on tape): “I took it personally… I am disappointed because he told me that [Theuma] recorded [Fenech]. Why are you worrying?”
Theuma (on tape): “I had every reason to.”
Fenech (on tape): “Because you told a person from A to Z. I have a reason to worry.”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Why did Yorgen say he had a reason to worry?”
Theuma: “Because I shared everything Yorgen told me.”
On tape, Theuma assures Fenech he never mentioned him to the Degiorgios as being the ‘mastermind.’
15:07: Yorgen Fenech (on tape): “I am going to Las Vegas next Monday.”
Theuma clarifies from the stand that he does not know who Fenech was speaking to during this specific remark.
Fenech (on tape, addressing Theuma): “I am disappointed, but I am going to tell you…”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Why was he disappointed in you?”
Melvin Theuma: “Because I recorded him.”
15:06: Court proceedings continue with the playback of a muffled secret recording, which Theuma immediately identifies as capturing his own voice.
Asked by Prosecutor Godwin Cini if he can pinpoint the exact timing of the exchange, Theuma testifies that while he cannot recall the precise time, he remembers his partner had been in an accident around that period.
Another part of the audio captures Theuma entering the Portomaso tower to pick up Yorgen Fenech. On the tape, a woman at the front reception desk asks Theuma if he holds an appointment with Fenech, before phoning up to the office to announce that a “Mr Melvin Theuma” is waiting.
15:00: We are back in Hall 22.
Melvin Theuma will continue testifying in the trial against Yorgen Fenech.
13:00: Proceedings will continue at 2:45pm as court breaks for lunch.
13:00: A crucial exchange on the secret recording reveals Yorgen Fenech distancing himself from the Degiorgios’ bail arrangements, prompting Melvin Theuma to disclose another tape implicating Keith Schembri.
Below is a summary of the audio recordings being heard in court.
Melvin Theuma: “They’re going to request bail, because the case continues on the 22nd.”
Yorgen Fenech: “That is up to them, it is up to them… He spat it out, go tell them now.”
Fenech: “Don’t carry the weight on your own. In all my life I would never take the weight, never, never. Because I didn’t promise it”.
Here, Theuma intervenes.
Theuma: “Madam Justice, there is another recording where Yorgen admits that Keith Schembri had sent Kenneth Camilleri.”
Children’s voices can be heard echoing in the background, with Theuma and Fenech discussing the murder in their presence.
12:58: PN MEP David Casa took to Facebook to say that his work exposing the truth behind 17Black was among the most important and consequential of his career, adding that attempts to stop him only confirmed that his work was having an impact where it mattered most.
This comes after confessed middleman Melvin Theuma testified in court that Yorgen Fenech had offered money to the Nationalist Party to prevent Casa from being elected because of his reporting on 17 Black.
“Back then I was attacked, threatened, and called a liar,” Casa said. “Today it has become clear just how far these people were willing to go to stop me from carrying out this task.”
Casa also said that 17 Black was at the heart of a system that had taken hold of Malta’s institutions, insisting that he would continue working until the full truth was revealed.
12:46: Melvin Theuma tells the court that whenever Yorgen Fenech mentions the name “Keith” during their private conversations, he understands him to mean former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri.
Testifying as another secret recording plays in court-punctuated by the ambient sounds of children’s voices-Theuma and Fenech can be heard discussing the pending bail application for the Degiorgio brothers, which is slated for a decision on the “22nd.”
Theuma stresses that he makes it crystal clear to Fenech on tape that he will not take the fall alone, insisting he is not going to carry the sole responsibility.
The recorded conversation also features repeated references to “betrayal” and “bail.”
12:35: A fresh audio recording featuring Yorgen Fenech, Melvin Theuma, and Fenech’s children is played in court, leading the prosecution to address claims of physical intimidation between the two men.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Did you ever threaten Yorgen Fenech with a firearm?”
Melvin Theuma: “Never, I could never!”
Cini: “So, you never placed a firearm on the table in front of him?”
Theuma: “Never! Never! Madam Justice, if I had ever threatened him, would he ask me to pick up his wife from the airport and take her home? Heh.”
12:26: The audio playback inside Hall 22 remains muffled and difficult to decipher, with key fragments of a conversation involving Melvin Theuma and his partner emerging through the static.
The recording played in court is barely intelligible, though a distinct exchange is audible: “Give me the keys,” followed by a woman’s voice shouting, “I don’t care about the one million, he’s going to keep talking about the one million!”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What was happening during this recording?”
Melvin Theuma: “I was calling Mario Degiorgio so I could go and visit him at his house.”
12:15: As the court proceeds to play another secret audio recording, a crowded public balcony inside Hall 22 watches Theuma testifying.
The audio played in open court features multiple overlapping voices, including a woman talking and children crying in the background.
Clarifying the chaotic scene for jurors, Theuma identifies the voices as his partner, Charmaine, her mother, and his young son, testifying that the recording captured the moment he placed a call to Mario Degiorgio.
Theuma states that he did not know he was recording.
12:08: Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “What did you mean when you discussed Cardona on the recording?”
Melvin Theuma: “Alfred Degiorgio was in the prison van being transported from court back to prison, and they recorded him. He was saying that he was going to place the blame for the murder on Chris Cardona.”
12:03: Madam Justice Edwina Grima: “Can you clarify the reference to Valletta in the recording?”
Theuma: “Yorgen and I both knew that [Silvio] Valletta was fully aware that the two of us were close friends.”
Cini: “Why did Yorgen Fenech tell you not to panic?”
Theuma: “I don’t know-to get me not to expose him, I guess. I thought a motorcycle spotted near my house was CID. Yorgen told me not to pass through Ħaż-Żebbuġ, but to go through the valley instead.”
Cini: “Yorgen tells you on the tape: ‘Those are not normally motorcycles’-what did he mean?”
Theuma: “He meant that a regular motorcycle officer would just be standard police, and not the Secret Service.”
11:57: The recordings continue to be played out:
YF: “Valletta.”
MT: “Yeah?”
YF: “Because if he asks me like that, I’ll tell him ‘Why, I’ve known him for a long time, for the Mother of God’s sake, since…’ [unintelligible].”
MT: Exactly, exactly.
YF: “What’s wrong with that? Horse enthusiasts, for God’s sake, he’s my friend.”
MT: “You’re not going to tell him, ‘You’re the one who set me up.’ Heh, heh.”
YF: “He’s my friend. You shouldn’t panic, listen to me.”
MT: “Bloody hell, and tonight I saw a motorbike near the house, I didn’t like it at all.”
YF: “See if it comes here.”
MT: “Eh?”
YF: “See if it comes here. Now go down through the valley. But they aren’t the usual motorbikes, you know? Isn’t that right? No, those aren’t the Secret Service Police. Those work differently, eh.”
MT: “Yeah?”
YF: “No, no, but he hasn’t spoken to them, you know; he hasn’t mentioned anything yet.”
11:47: As the court begins playing the translated audio transcript, Theuma confirms that the exchange represented the very first secret recording he ever made of Yorgen Fenech.
Theuma tells the court he managed to secretly record the accused by hiding his mobile phone inside his sock while they spoke.
Below is a transcript of the recording:
YF: “Because they are proceeding with the matter, you understand. Meaning it’s bad, it’s better if they talk to him. Because otherwise he’ll have to do it through the lawyer with the magistrate, which is worse. You understand. Now what is he going to say? He told me ‘I don’t know,’ you understand.”
MT: “Well, what do they want him to say?” [Referring to Vince Muscat’s presidential pardon]
YF: “He knows, I think, eh.”
MT: “Well, isn’t it what they told him, obviously.”
YF: “But I never spoke to him. No, but I’m asking you so that, for God’s sake, we are one hundred percent sure. What do you think, though?”
MT: “Me, I never spoke to him.”
YF: “Stay calm, eh. Listen to me and don’t rush, because I don’t even know if it’s a good idea for us to pass [the message] to them. If he leaks us, we’ll expose him.”
MT: “Exactly. Now, they-that’s what they want, that’s what they want.”
11:30: Proceedings have moved to playing key audio recordings in open court, with state witness Melvin Theuma issuing an advance apology for the foul language featured on the tapes.
Theuma: “Madam Justice, I want to apologise directly to you for all the foul language and swearing heard on these recordings.”
Madam Justice Edwina Grima: “Don’t worry, we’ve already heard some.”
11:27: Theuma: “God needs to take me after this trial. When she was killed, my life ended. Before this, I had everything -I was happy, I travelled, I worked. What did I not have?”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Why did you say yes to the murder request at the Blue Elephant?”
Theuma: “It was seduction on his part. I made a big mistake by not saying no to him at the Blue Elephant that time. If I had, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Cini: “From the homicide up until your arrest, did you see a psychiatrist?”
Theuma: “I was drinking heavily. After my arrest, I went to see a psychiatrist at a clinic in Birkirkara, possibly DaVinci Hospital. I think it was Mark Xuereb. However, my lawyers were not happy with it because he knew the late Franco Fenech, so I never went back.”
11:21: Theuma: “Matthew Brincat and Kathleen Grima said they were going to fight to get me a presidential pardon. The government told me if I said the whole truth, I would get the pardon.”
Brincat and Grima were Theuma’s lawyers.
Cini: “What happened then?”
Theuma: “I signed the contract and was providing my statements. Then Matthew Brincat pulled me aside and told me to stop right there. I told Inspector Keith Arnaud that until I officially had the presidential pardon in hand, I wasn’t going to talk anymore. Arnaud told me: ‘Do you think I’m your puppet? (Mela jien il-pulċinell tiegħek?) If I’m telling you to tell me from A to Z, are you going to stop at F?’ When I went in front of then magistrate now Judge Neville Camilleri, he told me to tell him nothing but the truth, and not what is going through my mind or what I am thinking.”
Theuma outlines the broad parameters of his presidential pardon, emphasising that his immunity from prosecution was contingent on disclosing everything he knew about additional major crimes.
While the pardon officially covers his role as middleman in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia as well as various money laundering activities, Theuma underlines that he voluntarily provided information to police regarding two notorious armed robberies.
He testifies that he disclosed his knowledge of the Casinò di Venezia robbery in Birgu and the failed 2010 HSBC headquarters heist, which directly implicated the Degiorgio brothers.
11:11: Theuma pauses to use an inhaler as he explains his choice of legal representation and makes startling claims about Yorgen Fenech’s political funding.
Cini: “Why were Dr Jason Azzopardi and Dr Aquilina your first choice of lawyers?”
Theuma: “Yorgen told me: ‘In your case, I will get Dr Gatt to represent you.’ Why was he going to give me his own lawyer if I was going to testify against him? I said I would find my own lawyer. I chose such lawyers because they were Nationalists and they were writing continuously about the case.”
Theuma pauses briefly to use an inhaler before continuing.
Theuma: “Yorgen had even offered money to the PN so that David Casa would not be elected, because Casa was writing about 17 Black.”
11:04: Theuma: “They went to my son’s school to pick him up… they arrested my family as well.”
The witness bursts into tears.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini pauses.
Theuma can then be seen rummaging through the ice-cream box where he kept pen drives and other evidence.
He takes out three pen drives containing the famous recordings between himself and Yorgen Fenech.
11:00: Theuma recounts the exact moment police officers intercepted his vehicle on 14 November 2019 and his immediate demands regarding his box of evidence.
Theuma: “On 14 November, Nicholas Vella and another officer came up on me while I was parked in Zurrieq. There was a white Peugeot 306. They asked me if there was something inside that could hurt them, and I said no. I told them regarding the box on the passenger’s seat: ‘This box needs to be opened either in front of the Attorney General or in front of a magistrate-and don’t go behind my back. The box was then opened in front of Magistrate Gabriella Vella.”
10:57: Prosecutor Cini: “Before you were arrested on 14 November, did you know anything?”
Theuma: “Two days before, I knew that they were going to arrest me on the 16th. Yorgen told me. They used to tell me, ‘If God may be, we will get rid of everything’-that the file would be closed.”
Cini: “Did you believe that such a homicide case would just be closed?”
Theuma: “I – Madam Justice, and I apologise – I am only here to convey what was said. Regarding Judge Grixti, I was given an answer and I passed it along from one side to the other. I told Yorgen about the Degiorgios’ bail, and he told me: ‘What am I supposed to tell the judge? That I’m the one who killed her?'”
10:48: Theuma details how former Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar allegedly knew about his secret recordings before his arrest.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Taking you back to the episode mentioning Edgar Brincat [il-Ġojja] and the Commissioner…”
Melvin Theuma: “He went to the Commissioner to talk about a fine, and the Commissioner asked him about me. He told him: ‘Melvin has some recordings in his hands, try and read his mind where he is keeping them.’ Edgar said alright, and then called me to come to his house to talk. He told me to be careful because the Commissioner knows about the recordings. I went mad – I told Johann and I told Yorgen.”
Cini: “You told us about Lawrence Cutajar… Before your arrest, did you ever speak to him directly?”
Theuma: “No, never. I used to see him in Marsa, that’s all. I used to boast in his regard, however, that I had Lawrence Cutajar on my side giving me information.”
10:40: Proceedings have resumed inside Hall 22 following a short break.
Judge Edwina Grima and the jurors have taken their places.
State witness Melvin Theuma has returned to his position, seated near the witness stand facing the court.
10:24: Prior to a short recess, defence lawyer Charles Mercieca interjects to object to the prosecution’s interrogation method, arguing that state witness Melvin Theuma was being asked leading and suggestive questions.
Madam Justice Edwina Grima sustains the point, cautioning the prosecution against asking leading questions or repeating prompts.
The judge instructed prosecutors to ensure that Theuma testifies entirely of his own free will, preventing any impression that his answers are being steered by suggestive questioning from the bench.
Court will resume at 10:30.
10:19: In a dramatic outburst, Melvin Theuma turned directly to presiding Judge Edwina Grima to express his anguish over the fallout his family faced as a result of his involvement in the assassination.
Melvin Theuma: “Madam Justice, I am involved in the homicide, but they involved my family! A €75,000 fine, and they stripped my daughter of her accountant’s warrant-that’s what I got in return!”
10:18: State witness Melvin Theuma tells the court how Yorgen Fenech made light of potential police interrogations.
Theuma: “Yorgen said: ‘If they arrest you, I will wait for you outside the depot with pastizzi.'”
Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “You mentioned being given police questions in advance…”
Melvin Theuma: “For example, if they were planning to ask me where certain money came from, and I didn’t like the question, I could cut that question out. That is what Johann Cremona had promised me.”
Cini: “Did the list of questions ever arrive?”
Theuma: “No, they never did”
Cini: “Were you promised anything else?”
Theuma: “Johann had also promised me a list of all the properties that would be raided.
Cini: “Did this list ever arrive?”
Theuma: “No, neither.”
10:09: Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Yesterday you testified that Yorgen said things that calmed you in many ways, such as telling you that their power is money. Did he ever do or tell you other things to calm you down?”
Melvin Theuma: “He told me that ‘[He] was the one to ruin it. It’s not fair that [Theuma] takes on the burden, for [Theuma] to carry the weight.'”
Theuma testifies regarding a failed property loan in San Ġwann in the months leading up to his arrest, citing his money laundering case
GC: “Months before the arrest, you applied for a loan on a property in San Ġwann?”
MT: “I did. The sanction letter was issued, but they retracted it. Johann Cremona used to tell me I was being investigated for various financial crimes. He would tell me I’m being investigated on all these things, but would tell me not to worry.”
10:00: Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “When Mario asked for €80,000 and Yorgen wasn’t answering you, why did you want to talk to Keith Schembri?”
Melvin Theuma: “To get Yorgen Fenech to understand that I needed the €80,000, to see where he was going to get it from-whether Keith gives them to me, whatever. It is true that the police found money at my home, but with the lotto I ran, one day you have this glass (pointing to a paper cup) and the next day you have nothing. It was a game.”
09:52: Theuma details a second meeting involving himself, Fenech, and Johann Cremona at Fenech’s Portomaso offices, where the ongoing funding for the hitmen was discussed.
Theuma: “We met at Level 21, Portomaso.”
Prosecutor Cini: “How did you end up there?”
MT: “Not in my car, nor in Johann’s, but we went there. We talked about not cutting off the Degiorgios’ money until their trial by jury.”
GC: “What money?”
MT: “The €2,000 or €3,000 a week, whether to stop giving them money until their jury.”
GC: “Did you know anything about the Degiorgios’ jury?”
MT: “No, I did not know anything.”
09:48: Theuma: “Around a month or two before we were arrested – no more than that, it was summer – Yorgen bought a ticket for me to go to France with him. But a day before, I told him I wasn’t going. I thought he was going to kill me. For sure, the ticket was given to Marlene Fenech instead.”
09:45: MT: “There was another episode where my partner, Charmaine, was in the car with us. I was having a glass of whisky with Yorgen, and he told me: ‘If I see something bad coming up, I’ll give him a million and the situation goes away.’ I just left after that.”
09:38: MT: “There was another episode where Yorgen Fenech asked me to pick him up from the airport around 7am – he was arriving from London, to my knowledge. It was a few days before my aunt passed away, and I didn’t feel up to going. I told him my aunt had just died, so I dispatched another driver from the Hilton to collect him. He brought back a Lego set for my son and two battery-operated e-cigarettes. Then, Yorgen gave me a piece of meat which he had allegedly poisoned. I told my partner to throw it away immediately. Yorgen found out and told me he was disappointed that I threw it out.”
GC: “Why did you think Yorgen was trying to poison you?”
MT: “It just entered my mind like that.”
09:33: Prosecutor Godwin Cini: “Explain these three episodes you mentioned yesterday, involving yourself, Yorgen Fenech, and Johann Cremona.”
Melvin Theuma: “There was a time when Yorgen had argued with his wife and was staying at his farmhouse. In the morning, I met Johann at his garage, and we picked up some pastizzi on the way to the farmhouse. We talked about money, about Ms. Daphne Caruana Galizia, and so on. I told Yorgen, ‘This isn’t your place, to be here on your own.’ Johann was then reassuring Yorgen that he was indeed passing the money on to Mario Degiorgio and not keeping it for himself. I wanted Mario and Yorgen to meet directly-I just couldn’t handle going to Fenech for money anymore. I simply couldn’t take it.”
09:30: State witness Melvin Theuma tells the court that Yorgen Fenech told him about former deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta following their encounter at Fenech’s Żebbuġ ranch.
Melvin Theuma (MT): “When I was driving him to the airport, Yorgen told me: ‘Mr. Valletta saw you, you’re not a new face to the police force.’ I went mad – I had only ever had one case with the police in my life. I told him this was a huge deal, to have someone that high up in the force telling him such things.”
GC: “Did you ever discuss Valletta’s role in the investigation?”
MT: “Daphne’s family wanted to remove Mr. Valletta from the case, and Yorgen and I were discussing that very issue.”
09:25: Theuma details how former Deputy Police Commissioner Silvio Valletta was directly linked to information leaks surrounding the investigation, recalling a specific encounter at Yorgen Fenech’s Żebbuġ property a few weeks after the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Theuma explicitly testifies that former Deputy Commissioner Silvio Valletta passed inside information regarding the murder investigation directly to Yorgen Fenech.
He recalls once receiving an afternoon call from Fenech asking him to deliver two loaves of bread to his farmhouse in Żebbuġ.
Driving his Jaguar, Theuma explains how he arrived at the property’s metal gate and called Fenech to signal his arrival.
After parking in front of the farmhouse door, Theuma saw Silvio Valletta standing directly behind the door, noting that Valletta looked right at him as Fenech came out to collect the bread.
09:16: State witness Melvin Theuma (MT) has resumed his testimony in court, testifying while seated with a camera directed at his face, displaying his expressions on the courtroom monitors as he looked down and around the hall.
Prosecutor Godwin Cini (GC): “You testified regarding the garage episode, that episode where Kenneth Camilleri left a paper with three numbers… After that episode, did you ever talk to Kenneth Camilleri?”
MT: “I don’t know if Kenneth called Johann [Cremona] or vice versa, but Johann gave me his mobile, and I spoke to Kenneth.”
GC: “What did Kenneth tell you?”
MT: “He told that we are going to paint it as you are not involved in anything, as if the police don’t know anything.”
GC: “Regarding what?”
MT: “The homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia.”
09:05: Judge Edwina Grima enters the courtroom.
The sitting is expected to begin soon.
09:05: Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of Yorgen Fenech’s jury trial in which he is facing charges for his complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Confessed middleman Melvin Theuma is expected to continue his testimony.
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