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Maksar trial: Jurors shown gruesome photos of Carmel Chircop murder scene
The trial by jury of the four men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop continued on Wednesday
7 May 2025, 9:50am
Maya Galea
Maya Galea
4 min read
Left to right: Adrian Agius and Carmel Chircop
Gruesome photos of the aftermath lawyer Carmel Chircop’s murder back in 2015 at a Birkirkara garage were shown to the jurors in court on Wednesday.
The trial by jury over the murders of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop continued before Madam Justice Edwina Grima. The accused are ‘Tal-Maksar’ brothers, Robert and Adrian Agius, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio.
Vella and Robert Agius, Adrian’s younger brother, are accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia by supplying the bomb that killed her in October 2017.Adrian Agius is charged with commissioning the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop in 2015.Prosecutors insist the hit was also carried out in complicity with Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio who are accused of executing Chircop’s murder.
Court medical expert Mario Scerri took the stand to outline his findings upon his examination of the Carmel Chircop’s body, both on the site of the murder and during the post-mortem.
The scene of the crime in the garage was shown to the jurors, depicting the lifeless body of Chircop lying face-up near his Mercedes.
The victim was surrounded by a large pool of blood which had oozed from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. His left arm was flexed and twisted backward, still gripping his briefcase. A bracelet and mobile phone were also found close to the body.
Jurors were then shown a series of photos taken in the morgue. Scerri confirmed that a total of four bullets had wounded Chircop’s body, as previously confirmed. He also explained the nature of both entry and exit wounds.
The court expert said a certain wound in the victim’s back was an exit wound which is usually caused when a bullet rebounds and subsequently exits the body.
Another larger gunshot wound was seen between the chest and the stomach. This was identified as an entry wound and was deemed the most damaging due to its location near vital organs.
The expert also highlighted the signs of “burnt margins” around the wounds which meant Chircop was hit by a gun fired at close range.
Additional lesions were identified on the victim’s right arm, in the back, the neck, and the buttocks. Two of the four fatal bullets were recovered from within the body, one lodged in the chest and the other in the arm.
According to Scerri, one bullet had entered through the back and exited through the neck, while another travelled through the stomach and exited from a different part of the torso.
“The bullet causes great shockwaves. Where it hits, it destroys and deflects,” Scerri explained. “Its destination becomes unpredictable, hence the strange entry and exit patterns.”
Further confirmation of the autopsy findings came from doctors Maria Theresa Camilleri Podestà and Safraz Ali who were appointed by the inquiring magistrate to perform the post-mortem examination.
They confirmed Dr. Scerri’s testimony and noted Carmel Chircop was in good health prior to his death.
Court IT expert Keith Cutajar also testified about separate assignments he was involved in.
He testified about transcriptions that were given by Vince Muscat and how he edited the data to include only the relevant information.
He was also appointed to extract data from an iPhone belonging to Kevin Ellul ‘Double 0’. During the extraction, Cutajar discovered several fake social media accounts registered on the device, using the pseudonym “Brian Borg”.
Jean Paul Azzopardi later testified that he conducted valuations on four vehicles belonging to the accused, Jamie Vella - a Mercedes, Volvo, Citroen, and BMW.
He also assessed the vehicles and Yamaha motorcycles at Robert Agius’s residence, and analysed the value of a vehicle belonging to Adrian Agius.
A former police major also testified that about a week before Carmel Chircop's murder, he overheard Chircop angrily speaking on the phone, saying, "When are you going to give it back?" and "You've been saying this forever."
Upon cross-examination of lawyer Nicholas Mifsud, he confirmed that he did not know who was on the other side of the phone call.
Defence lawyer Amadeus Cachia proceeded to ask the police major:“ Do you know that he used to invest in property and was a negotiator?” No, I don’t know. All I know about Chircop I have said”, the witness replied firmly as he was pressed by lawyer Cachia.
When he was notified of the lawyer’s death, he distinctly remembered passing on this information to another inspector but he never got to know what she did with this information.
Prosecutors Godwin Cini, Danika Vella and Anthony Vella are representing the Attorney General’s office.
Defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud is appearing for Adrian Agius, Ishmael Psaila and Amadeus Cachia for Jamie Vella, Alfred Abela and Rene Darmanin representing Robert Agius, and Noel Bianco and Leslie Cuschieri for George Degiorgio.
Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are assisting the Caruana Galizia family, while Vince Galea is assisting the Chircop family.
Maya Galea is a MaltaToday court reporter. She is a second year law student at the Univers...
Session concludes
That was the last witness of the day. Thank you for following today's proceedings with us. We will continue with our reporting tomorrow.
'When are you going to give it back?'
A former police major is testifying next. This officer had heard Carmel Chircop yelling on the phone to someone a week before his murder, saying "When are you going to give it back?" and "You've been saying this forever". He says he does not know who the lawyer was speaking with exactly.
During cross-examination, the witness says that he waved and smiled at Chircop when he hung up the call. He knew Chircop and knew he was a lawyer. One of the defence lawyers asks: "Do you know that he used to invest in property and was a negotiator?". The witness says he didn't know this. "All I know about Chircop I have said already."
The witness says he passed on this information to another inspector but he does not know what she did with this information.
Report exhibited on Jamie Vella's weapons
The next witness is from the Merchant Shipping Directorate. He tells the court that Alfred Degiorgio had declared himself the owner of the boat ‘Maya’, which was seized during a raid in Marsa. The witness confirmed the deed of sale of the boat.
After this, a police inspector testifies about the weapons registered to Jamie Vella. According to the witness, he started paying his licence in 2011 but stopped in 2017. She is presenting a report to the court on these details and the dates he bought certain weapons.
Over €100,000 worth of cars found in accused's possession
The next witness had been tasked by the court to carry out a valuation of the cars found with the accused. For Jamie Vella, the full valuation of the four cars--a Mercedes, Volvo, Citroen and BMW--found in his possession was between €84,000 and €90,000. For Adrian Agius, the car found in his possession was valued at €11,000.
Kevin Ellul kept several fake media accounts
Cutajar is continuing his testimony. He was asked to analyse a mobile phone and extract data from it. This mobile phone belonged to Kevin Ellul. According to Cutajar, several fake social media accounts were registered on the phone. One of his chosen pseudonyms was Brian Borg. The witness also extracted the contacts and friends list from the mobile phone.
Cutajar was also tasked with extracting footage from the CCTV system at the Corradino Correctional Facility. The footage he extracted shows the prison's groundfloor
Court's in session
The court is back in session, but the jurors aren't in yet. A point of law is being discussed by the legal teams.
Short testimony before... another break
When the court resumed, the next witness was Keith Cutajar, a court IT expert. He testified about transcriptions that were given by Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, and how he cleaned the data so that only what's relevant to the investigation was kept. He also testified on CCTV footage related to the Caruana Galizia probe.
After his testimony, the court is taking another break till 3pm.
Half-hour break
The court will be taking a half-hour break. We will continue our reporting when the court is back in session.
Autopsy doctors say Chircop was healthy before death
Autopsy doctors Maria Theresa Camilleri Podesta and Safraz Ali are up next. They were appointed by the inquiring magistrate to perform a post mortem examination of the body of lawyer Carmel Chircop. Camilleri explains the various wounds and lesions found on the body and confirms Mario Scerri’s examination. She clarifies that, prior to his death, the lawyer was healthy and he did not smoke.
Medical expert explains entry and exit wounds
Photos from the morgue are also being shown to the jurors, with an explanation of each wound or lesion seen on the body.
The first wound shown is a clear exit wound, which the expert explaining that such a wound occurs when the bullet hit the victim but rebounds back and out of the body. Another gunshot wound is much bigger than the first. The expert explained it as an entry wound, and such a wound would be the cause of the most damage, especially because it was found right between the chest and the stomach, near vital organs.
More wounds and lesions were seen in the right arm, in the back, just below the neck and on the buttocks. Photos of the victim being dissected were also seen.
The expert also confirmed that he was hit by a total of four bullets shot from a firearm. There were a total of four bullet entry points and two exit points. Two bullets stayed in the body, one in the arm and one in the chest.
Scerri explains how the bullets entered from the back and exited from the neck. Another entered the stomach, hit a different area, causing a wound, and exited from a completely different part of the body.
“The bullet causes great shockwaves, it destroys and deflects where it hits. It hits any muscles or tissues it finds, and its destination is unpredictable, hence the strange entry and exit wounds,” he clarifies.
Jurors shown gruesome photos of Chircop's body
Court medical expert Mario Scerri takes the stand. He is explaining the preliminary examinations on the body of Carmel Chircop, which was found in Birkirkara. Scerri examined the body on the scene, in the morgue and was also present during the autopsy. The first photograph shows the scene of the murder in the garage, where investigators found a Mercedes car and Chircop’s body. The jurors are also being shown a photograph of Chircop’s body lying face-up near his car, with a clear gunshot to his chest. Two clear gunshot wounds are seen in Chircop’s chest and on the right hand side of the stomach. Chircop was surrounded by a large pool of blood, oozing from his body. The left arm was flexed and rotated backwards holding a briefcase. A bracelet and a mobile phone was found near the body. The victim’s legs were out of the garage. In other gruesome photo, Chircop's back is seen drenched in blood.
Good morning and welcome to our live reporting of the jury by trial of the four men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia and Carmel Chircop. The accused are Robert and Adrian Agius, known as the ‘Tal-Maksar’ brothers, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio. Maya Galea, MaltaToday's court reporter, is in the courtroom following the proceedings.