Jamie Vella pulled the trigger, George Degiorgio drove getaway car in Carmel Chircop murder, court hears

Session's over

That's it for today's session. The jurors have left the courtroom. Muscat will continue testifying tomorrow at 9am.

Thank you for following today's live blog with us. 

Petrol attached to the bomb, activated by text

Muscat describes how Alfred Degiorgio brought a small bottle of water and filled it with petrol. This petrol bottle was attached to the bomb with tape. 

The bomb was to be activated by texting a long code.

Two by four, stainless steel

Muscat describes the bomb. It was roughly two inches by four and made of stainless steel, with wires and an on-off switch. It also had a battery, which the Degiorgio brothers were concerned about, as it might lose charge. 

Bomb had 300-500g of blasting gelatin

The Degiorgios wanted the bomb to be strong enough to ensure that the plan goes through without any hiccups. 

Muscat recalls hearing George Degiorgio say the bomb had between 300-500g of blasting gelatin.

Degiorgio had told Muscat that either Robert Agius or Jamie Vella would place the bomb under a boat turned upside down in the Marsa potato shed.

However, the first time Muscat saw the bomb was in the Naxxar garage used by Jamie Vella and Robert Agius. 

Bombs brought to Malta from Sicily through catamaran

When they eventually decided to carry out the murder with a bomb, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius again managed to bring them a selection of three bombs for their choosing. According to Muscat, the bombs were brought down from Sicily through the catamaran. One of these bombs was the one used to kill Caruana Galizia. 

The three men followed Caruana Galizia to the airport

Later, the three of them caught wind that Caruana Galizia was going to travel. They went to the airport to make sure they were flying off. Muscat says Alfred Degiorgio left the car to go see them checking in their bags. After this, he went back to the car and told them it looked like they were leaving for good. “He had never seen a luggage that big,” Degiorgio told them. However, they later found out that she was travelling with her husband to attend their son’s wedding. 

Alfred Degiorgio’s meeting with Chris Cardona

One of the Degiorgio brothers had the idea of speaking to Chris Cardona again to see if he would have any inkling on Caruana Galizia’s movements. Muscat agreed with this plan. 

Muscat mentions Toni ‘l-iblaħ’, who was driver to Chris Cardona. Alfred Degiorgio met with Cardona through Toni. 

Muscat is now relaying to the court what Degiorgio told him about this encounter. Cardona texted someone else, who Degiorgio suspected was Silvio Valletta, but then told Alfred Degiorgio there’s another group quoting €150,000 to kill Caruana Galizia. Degiorgio knew that they were the group quoting that amount, meaning there was one group, not two. 

Muscat says it had been years since he himself had met Chris Cardona.

Mobile replacements

Muscat says he used to see Theuma in Hamrun frequently. On one occasion, Theuma told Muscat to tell Alfred Degiorgio to call him back.

There was a period of time, according to Muscat, when they all had to change mobile phones. This was because Theuma’s son, who was around 6 or 7 years old at the time, accidentally got hold of the mobile. Worried, they all decided to switch their mobiles for security’s sake.

Degiorgio drove Theuma to surveillance spot

On another occasion, Alfred Degiorgio took Melvin Theuma to the surveillance spot in Bidnija. Degiorgio used Muscat’s car to drive Theuma to the spot.

Theuma had been calling repeatedly and going to the potato shed, despite being told by Degiorgio not to visit them there. 

Muscat says he never spoke to Theuma about the details of the murder plan.

Rifle plan falls through

Muscat and Degiorgio went to a field in Bidnija with a clear view of Caruana Galizia typing away at her computer. The plan was for Degiorgio to shoot her through a basement window using the long-range rifle resting on sacks filled with soil. However, this plan fell through. George Degiorgio said he would rather use a bomb. The rifle was placed back in the Naxxar garage, and Muscat never saw it again.

Back in session

The break is over. Vincent Muscat is continuing his testimony.

Court on break

The court is taking a quick break. We will be back with our reporting at around 4:45pm

Alfred Degiorgio picked out the best rifle

According to Muscat, it was Alfred Degiorgio that chose one of the rifles, as he was more familiar with the weapons. Two of the rifles weren’t in the best condition, but one of them looked to be of good quality. “They were all ok to use, but we went for the best one,” he says. 

They picked up the best one, and the other two were left at the garage. 

Alfred Degiorgio set and tried out the rifle in a farmhouse in Żebbuġ.

Muscat recalls hearing about this Naxxar garage for a long time, but he only visited for the first time to pick out this rifle. 

Muscat: Robert Agius, Jamie Vella brought weapons for Caruana Galizia murder

As to the vehicle of choice, Alfred Degiorgio knew a guy from whom they could rent a car. They were first given a big Peugeot car, but they weren’t too happy with this because its size could cause manoeuvring concerns. They were then given a bigger car. 

They noticed some stickers on the windscreen of the car. Alfred Degiorgio removed the stickers so that the car could not be identified through them.

One of the surveillance points allowed them to get up close to Caruana Galizia’s house, even managing to see her sat at her laptop inside her house.

They were only a couple of metres away from her, it seems. 

One option for the killing was to use a long rifle with a telescope to shoot at her from this angle.

One day, when the Degiorgios and Muscat were at the potato shed, Alfred Degiorgio told them that Robert Agius and Jamie Vella had acquired some weapons for carrying out the murder.

At a later time, Muscat and Alfred Degiorgio visited a Naxxar garage used by Agius and Vella to look at the weapons: three rifles. Agius and Vella were not at the garage for the visit.

Three surveillance points to keep an eye on Caruana Galizia

Since Muscat was already involved in the early plan to murder Caruana Galizia, they already knew where she lived. At the time of the earlier plan, George Degiorgio had been in prison, but was released before the 2017 plan for her murder.

Because of her movements, Muscat and Degiorgio identified three surveillance points across Bidnija and Mosta that allowed them to keep an eye on Caruana Galizia. 

He says most of the surveillance work was carried out by Muscat and George Degiorgio. However, all three of them—the two Degiorgio brothers and Muscat—kept cheap mobile phones on them to maintain communication. 

Melvin Theuma gave Alfred Degiorgio €30,000 deposit for murder

It was Melvin Theuma who told them to put the plan on hold, at least until the election passes. That year, an election was held towards the beginning of June. 

During this time, they bought two cheap Nokia mobile phones: one for Alfred Degiorgio and another for Melvin Theuma, so that they can maintain communication but dispose of the evidence later. 

When the election passed, Alfred Degiorgio met Melvin Theuma and told him that he picked up the €30,000 deposit. The two brothers and Vincent Muscat took €10,000 each from the deposit. 

After this, Muscat and Alfred Degiorgio started surveilling the journalist.

Plan falls through, another one hatches

Muscat says this plan fell through. Even the deposit for the murder was never paid. George Degiorgio was supposed to be liaising with lawyer David Gatt about the payment, but no money was passed to the killers for this plan. 

In May 2017, a couple of years after this initial murder plan, Muscat went to the potato shed and Alfred Degiorgio, George’s brother who is not accused in these proceedings, told Muscat that Melvin Theuma came by with an assignment (“biċċa xogħol”)—to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

For this, the Degiorgio brothers and Vincent Muscat decided on a €150,000 price tag, including a €30,000 deposit.

Original plan was for Jamie Vella to shoot down Caruana Galizia with AK47

Jamie Vella already knew where Caruana Galizia lived. The prosecution asks how he knew, but Muscat doesn’t know. However, Jamie Vella’s own farmhouse near Mosta was close to Caruana Galizia’s house in Bidnija. 

After three days of surveillance on Caruana Galizia’s house, Muscat and Degiorgio decided to take a closer look at her house. They managed to reach the gate of the house, where they found a BMW car, but quickly left. 

Muscat says, at the time, the plan was to shoot Caruana Galizia dead. As she would drive down the road, Degiorgio would block her path using a car while Jamie Vella shoots at her with an AK47.

At one point during this period, Muscat drove George Degiorgio to Portomaso. He had told Muscat that he will go there to speak to Chris Cardona. However, Muscat insists that this is Degiorgio’s version of events. He never saw Cardona meet with Degiorgio. 

Muscat says plan was underway to kill Caruana Galizia between 2014 and 2015

The prosecution asks Muscat his first memory of Caruana Galizia. Muscat says between 2014 and 2015, Muscat would head down to the potato shed in Marsa. George Degiorgio came down and said that someone wants to “get rid” of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Degiorgio would always mention Chris Cardona to Muscat in this regard. Cardona is a former economy minister. They had agreed on a sum of money of €150,000, and one time Muscat and Degiorgio went to Bidnija to follow Caruana Galizia’s movements. At one point, Degiorgio told Muscat that he needed to meet Chris Cardona.

He says the price tag was agreed to by himself, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella. It was the three of them who were going to carry out the murder plan.

According to Muscat, the lawyer David Gatt served as the go-between, passing money around. At the time, Muscat would see the lawyer around the potato shed.

Back in session

The court's two-hour lunch break is over. Vincent Muscat will continue testifying, but this time the prosecution will ask him about the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Court on break

The court will be taking a two-hour break for lunch. We will be back with our usual court reporting at around 3pm.

Adrian Agius arrested but kept cool with police

After the homicide, Robert and Adrian Agius visited  the men at the potato shed in Marsa. The brothers told them that Adrian Agius had been arrested in connection to the murder but “kept solid” and did not speak to the police.

Muscat says he does not know where the Agius brothers were at the time of the murder.

Degiorgio wanted Maksar brothers to pay for his boat

Some time after the murder, Muscat, Degiorgio and some others were out for dinner in Ta’ Xbiex when George Degiorgio spotted a boat—the Maya—for sale. Degiorgio called the owner, who told him he needs to pay up soon because other people are interested in buying too. At this point, Degiorgio rang one of the Maksar brothers asking for €30,000 to buy the boat. Muscat heard Degiorgio’s phone call and noticed that he was angry. Degiorgio was telling him to hurry up and bring him the money.

After a while, Robert Agius appeared. However, Muscat says he was not there for the rest of the incident.

€5,000 before the murder, €15,000 after

Muscat said he, Degiorgio and Vella agreed between them that they would be paid €20,000 by the Maksar brothers—Adrian and Robert Agius. €5,000 was to be paid before the murder. Muscat says the brothers gave the money to Degiorgio, who then divvied the money between them. Degiorgio gave Muscat the first €5,000 in September, when the plan had just hatched. Another €10,000 was given to Muscat by Degiorgio a couple of days after the murder. 

Then, Degiorgio rang up Muscat to tell him that Robert Agius will give him the last €5,000. Agius handed Muscat the money a day after this call. 

According to Muscat, Degiorgio told him that he wasn't going to ask the brothers for payment for the kill. 

Murder weapon hidden near Santa Venera garage

When the deed was done, Jamie Vella and Vince Muscat lowered themselves in the car and George Degiorgio drove off. They drove towards the nearby school then took a left. He describes the escape route, and accidentally driving through a road with CCTV coverage. Muscat told Degiorgio to put down his sun visor so that the camera won’t catch his face.

The general route chosen took them through Birkirkara and Hamrun until they arrived at the garage in Santa Venera.

After settling at the garage, Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio hid the revolver in a nearby place. They made sure not to leave it in the garage so that, if police trace the car back to that garage, they would not find murder weapon. Muscat isn’t sure whether it was Degiorgio or Vella who hid the weapon, but it was one of the two, he says. 

After this, Muscat drove the three of them to Jamie Vella’s flat, which was not too far from the garage. 

Shooting happened in matter of seconds

Once they wore their cover-ups, they drove off and drove through the escape route to make sure the roads were fine. After doing this, they drove to the garage complex and assumed their position. Jamie Vella left the car and stood by a nearby window structure, while Muscat and Degiorgio remained in the car, which they kept started.

Vella was able to see the public road from his position, and so could see when Chircop was approaching the complex. From the car, Muscat could also see Chircop entering the complex through the ramp. When Vella saw Chircop walking towards the complex, he notified Degiorgio and Muscat.

Meanwhile, Chircop came to the entrance of his garage door—a foldable metal structure. He placed his work bag on the floor and started to open up the garage. This is when Jamie Vella started to shoot at Chircop. “This all happened in a few minutes.”

Muscat says his last memory of Chircop was him opening the garage door and entering it, and then Vella shooting at him.

Muscat, Vella wore balaclavas to hide identity

Muscat recalls the day of the murder: 8 October 2015. He says he doesn’t remember if this day was chosen for any particular reason. 

They woke up at around 5am. He drove with his own car to pick up George Degiorgio from somewhere in Marsa, and then they continued to pick up Jamie Vella from his flat in Santa Venera. A day earlier, Muscat and George Degiorgio gave Jamie Vella some shoes and clothing items for everyone to wear after the murder.

After picking up Jamie Vella, they went to pick up the stolen car. The weapons of choice were already in the car. They had the keys of the garage on them already. Muscat left his own car in the garage and the three used the stolen vehicle to carry out the hit. George Degiorgio drove the stolen car while Vince Muscat was sat in the back seat, toward’s the passenger’s side. Jamie Vella sat near Muscat, right behind Degiorgio. 

Muscat and Vella wore black balaclavas, while George Degiorgio wore a cap and bandana covering half his face. 

Back in session

We’ve heard about the murder plan, but now Muscat will tell the court about how the plan played out.

Half-hour break

The court is taking a short break. We will be back when the court is in session again.

Weapons brought to Malta from Sicily, via catamaran

The prosecution asks about how the accused used to obtain their weapons. According to Muscat, Jamie Vella and Robert Agius would bring them to Malta from Sicily, through the catamaran. Muscat would hear Jamie Vella and Robert Agius talking about this while at the potato shed.

Weapons of choice were a revolver, pistol and AK47

The prosecution asks about the preparations for the murder, specifically the weapon used to kill Carmel Chircop. Muscat says they were going to keep three weapons on them: a revolver, an automatic pistol, and an AK47 in case things go awry. 

The weapon of choice for Jamie Vella, according to Muscat, was the revolver. George Degiorgio kept the automatic pistol nearby as a backup plan. The AK47 was going to be kept on the floor of the back seat of the garage.

In general, the AK47 used to be kept in the Santa Venera garage. However, when they were once all at Jamie Vella’s farmhouse near Mosta, they were shooting it for fun.

Stolen car kept in Santa Venera garage

The prosecution is asking about the garage in Santa Venera. According to Muscat everyone had access to this garage—everyone meaning himself, George Degiorgio, Jamie Vella, and even Robert Agius. 

It was George Degiorgio that used to pay rent on the garage to Lawrence Pace, known is il-Lolly, although Pace was not the owner of the garage. The money, €300, would be paid every six months. The Degiorgio brother would give Muscat the money in cash, and Muscat would pay it to Pace. Muscat says he knew Pace for a while.

One time, Muscat had gone with Degiorgio to pay the rent money. When they arrived, Muscat remarked to Degiorgio that the area is full of CCTV.

Muscat: ‘Jamie had the guts to shoot’

In summary, the plan was for the three of them—Jamie Vella, George Degiorgio and Vince Muscat—to wake up early and pick up the stolen car from Santa Venera, where it was kept in a garage. After this, they drove to the garage complex and checked that the escape route was safe. They assumed their position in the garage complex then waited for Carmel Chircop to appear. At that point, Jamie Vella would shoot him while George Degiorgio drives them away.

The prosecution asks why that specific method was chosen for the murder. Muscat thinks it was George Degiorgio or Jamie Vella. As to why Jamie Vella was to pull the trigger, Muscat says only he had the guts the shoot. “He’s capable of shooting,” he said. (“Kapaċi jispara”).

Muscat: Jamie Vella pulled the trigger, George Degiorgio was the getaway driver

The prosecution asks about the murder plan. The plan was to shoot at Chircop early in the morning before work. According to the plan, Jamie Vella was to shoot Chircop, while George Degiorgio would drive the stolen car. Vince Muscat would remain in the back seat.

Before the murder was to take place, Muscat and the team explored the area to plan an escape route. On the day of the murder, they planned the exact route and drove through in advance to make sure no roads were closed.

Muscat is saying that Adrian Agius was particularly keen to get the murder over and done with. Strictly speaking, the Maksar brothers did not need to be informed of the murder plan, according to Muscat. All that mattered was that they pay for the murder. 

Stolen car used to spy on Chircop

Muscat is describing to the judge where Chircop’s garage was located within the complex.

According to Muscat, Robert Agius and George Degiorgio managed to find Chircop’s garage during one of the surveillance outings.

One day, at 5am, Muscat was joined by Jamie Vella and George Degiorgio and drove to the garage complex using a stolen car. They did this to try and identify which garage in the complex belonged to Carmel Chircop. They parked in front of a window structure. 

Jamie Vella left the car to spy on Chircop through the window, while Muscat and Degiorgio remained in the car but kept out of sight. This is how they managed to identify which garage belonged to Chircop.

Accused spied on Chircop for almost a month before his murder

A couple of days or weeks before the murder, Muscat went with Adrian Agius brothers to spy on Chircop at the Birgu waterfront while he was out having dinner with his wife.

Another time, Muscat, Adrian Agius and either George Degiorgio or Adrian Agius were dining at a cafeteria in Naxxar. Carmel Chircop was at a cafeteria nearby, but at one point he left the establishment to take a call. The aim of this outings was to spy on Chircop and get an idea of his movements. 

At the start of the plan to kill Chircop, Muscat had gone with his car by himself to spy on Chircop at his home. He parked near the McDonald’s outlet in Birkirkara.  From the car, he was able to see the front door of Chircop’s home. He spent around an hour there. After this, George Degiorgio told him there’s no need to continue, and instead he went himself with Robert Agius.

‘Let’s hurry up’

He says that he knew Robert Agius for a while at that point, although they were not close. They would greet each other and chat every once in a while. 

After some time, the brothers would come more often and Adrian Agius would urge him to quicken the pace on Chircop’s murder: “Let’s hurry up” (Ejja ħa neħilsu). Every time Muscat would see him, Agius would mention it. Muscat would respond by telling him to tell George Degiorgio.

Maksar brothers wanted to ‘get rid’ of Carmel Chircop

The prosecution starts with questions about the murder of Carmel Chircop, urging him to be precise with his details. He asks about his earliest memories of the murder. 

“In September 2015 I went to the potato shed in Marsa at around 9am. I used to go down there every day. George Degiorgio told me that the Maksar brothers were going to come by. George Degiorgio told me what this was about. They wanted Carmel Chircop dead. After an hour, the brothers came and we started talking. We mentioned money. They were going to give me €20,000.”

He explains that the ‘team’ for this hit was himself, George Degiorgio and Jamie Vella. Regarding the motive, Muscat explains that this was to do with a sum of almost €800,000 loaned by Carmel Chircop and an expensive villa owned by one of the Maksar brothers.

Muscat apologises to the families of the victims

The judge is warning him that he must tell the whole truth regarding the murder of Carmel Chircop, or else suffer the legal consequences that come with breaching his presidential pardon.

He starts with apologising to the families of the two murder victims. 

Vincent Muscat next to testify

The jurors have entered the courtroom, and we now await the star witness of this jury: Vincent Muscat. In 2021, Muscat pleaded guilty to his role in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. On the same day he pleaded guilty, he was granted a presidential pardon to tell all about the murder of Carmel Chircop. 

Court in session but no jurors yet

Judge Edwina Grima is in the courtroom listening to arguments from the defence and prosecution about a point of law. The jurors are not in the courtroom yet. 

Good morning and welcome to today's live blog. We're reporting live from court on the jury proceedings against the four men accused of murdering lawyer Carmel Chircop and journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia will continue on Friday.

Adrian Agius stands accused of commissioning the murder of Carmel Chircop, with his brother Robert Agius, Jamie Vella, and George Degiorgio accused of complicity in the killing.

All four men deny the charges. Robert Agius and Degiorgio are also accused of involvement in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.