Degiorgio brothers’ testimonies align with Fenech’s defence arguments

Convicted murderer George Degiorgio claimed in court on Wednesday that the same group of people involved in an alleged 2015 plot to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia used pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma to revive the murder plan in 2017, aligning his testimony with claims previously made by the accused, Yorgen Fenech.

Degiorgio, who was convicted of Caruana Galizia’s murder together with his brother Alfred, was an uncooperative witness throughout most of his testimony, repeatedly refusing to answer questions about his brother and accusing the prosecution of failing to charge the people he claimed were truly behind the assassination.

“If you want me to testify about the 2015 plot, I will. I don’t want to testify about anything else. I won’t say anything about my brother,” Degiorgio told the court.

The witness’s stance mirrored that of his brother Alfred, who earlier on Wednesday refused to testify except to claim that former economy minister Chris Cardona, former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and lawyer David Gatt were involved in the murder.

George Degiorgio told state prosecutor Godwin Cini that the people involved in the murder included himself, Vince Muscat, Melvin Theuma, David Gatt, Chris Cardona and Keith Schembri. He refused to name his brother.

George Degiorgio previously claimed that Theuma “came out of the blue” in 2017 to commission the murder, but that he later became convinced Theuma had been sent by Schembri.

“Melvin knows Keith is involved. We wanted to know who sent him,” Degiorgio said.

He claimed that when Theuma came to the Marsa potato shed and asked whether they were going to “hurry”, Degiorgio told him to tell Schembri that “when we’re done, he’ll know”.

Degiorgio later said that he contacted Cardona to ask who had sent Theuma.

“I called him to ask him who sent Melvin Theuma. And he told me that Keith Schembri was involved,” Degiorgio claimed.

The claim echoes part of Fenech’s own police statement, read to jurors earlier in the trial by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud.

Fenech had claimed that Theuma and Cardona were trying to frame him, while also claiming that Schembri had wanted to “get rid of” Caruana Galizia and had later urged the plot forward.

Degiorgio’s testimony also aligned with the defence’s broader attempt to argue that investigators failed to properly pursue Cardona, Schembri and others.

Under cross-examination by Fenech’s lawyer Giannella de Marco, Degiorgio said Theuma never mentioned Fenech to the executors of the plot because, according to him, Theuma had always said he had been sent by Schembri.

“Of course he never mentioned him, because he always said to us that he was sent by Schembri,” Degiorgio said.

He also claimed that the group behind the alleged 2015 and 2017 plots was the same.

“They hired me in 2015… the same people used Melvin to come to me,” Degiorgio said.

Degiorgio gave jurors a detailed account of the alleged 2015 plot, claiming David Gatt had taken him to meet Cardona at Portomaso, where he was living at the time. According to Degiorgio, Cardona told him: “I want you to murder Daphne.”

Degiorgio said he asked who Caruana Galizia was, and that Cardona replied that Gatt would give him the details. He claimed Cardona said Caruana Galizia needed to be killed “because she is going to destroy our party”.

Degiorgio said he asked for €150,000 and a €50,000 deposit up front. He claimed that, while seeking an explanation of who was involved in the plot, he referred to himself, Schembri, then-police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, and “pointed upwards”, with Degiorgio explaining that he did not know who else Cardona meant.

He also claimed that, after they saw police patrols near Caruana Galizia’s home in Bidnija during some early stake-outs, Cardona later told them they could rest assured the patrols would not return.

Degiorgio repeatedly complained that the authorities had failed to listen to him. He accused Cini of “knowing” who else was involved and failing to charge them.

“You are making a huge mistake; you didn’t charge who you should have charged,” he told the prosecutor.

When asked why he had not previously given a fuller explanation about Schembri, Degiorgio said investigators had given him nothing in return.

“I spent six years going to the depot. What did you do about it? Are we going to repeat ourselves? Do you think I’m a beggar? I don’t beg for anything from anyone,” he said.

He also complained that the Degiorgio brothers had not been allowed to testify in proceedings against the bomb suppliers, known as the Maksar brothers, an assertion Madam Justice Edwina Grima pushed back against.

At one point, Degiorgio claimed he had been convicted on the basis of “hearsay” and said he believed he had been framed. He also claimed that if prosecutors had listened to the Degiorgio brothers, Fenech might not have been sitting in the dock.

“You would have gotten our full story if you asked,” Degiorgio said. “If you listened to us, I would believe that this man,” he added, pointing towards Fenech, “wouldn’t even be sitting here.”

The trial continues on Thursday morning.