Degiorgios to Caruana Galizia family: ‘It’s time you learnt who was involved with us’

George Degiorgio tried to apologise to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s relatives just after the judge sentenced him and his brother to 40 years in jail.

However, his and his brother’s attempt to address the relatives was repulsed by the grieving family.

George Degiorgio is understood to have turned to the family and said: “We want to apologise for what we did but now you will know who was involved; every person who was involved either way.”

Alfred Degiorgio then stood up from his wheelchair and addressed Peter Caruana Galizia and the family’s lawyer Jason Azzopardi: “The time has come for you to know everything about all those who were involved with us.”

Shortly after expressing these words, a commotion erupted in the courtroom with Daphne’s sisters telling the accused not to talk to them.

The Degiorgios had maintained absolute silence throughout the compilation of evidence against them in the past five years. They pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial today but changed their plea halfway through proceedings.

According to testimony heard in the compilation of evidence, the Degiorgios were commissioned by middleman Melvin Theuma to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia. Theuma was acting on behalf of alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech.

The Degiorgio brothers and their associate Vince Muscat had asked for €150,000 to carry out the assassination.

In a podcast interview with journalist Stephen Grey from Reuters that was broadcast this summer, George Degiorgio had admitted to the murder, insisting that he would have asked for more money had he known who Daphne was.

“It was business as usual,” Degiorgio admitted on tape as he laughed.

The three hitmen procured the bomb, placed it in the journalist’s car and detonated it. The murder happened on 16 October 2017 but the hitmen had been trailing the journalist's movements for months.

Muscat had admitted to the charges last year and was sentenced to 15 years jail after reaching a plea bargain arrangement to spill the beans on other crimes, including the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop.

Read our other stories on the tumultuous day here:

• Live Blog: Degiorgios handed 40-year sentence after pleading guilty
• Matthew Caruana Galizia: ‘These people should never have been allowed to do this’
• Daphne’s parents hear their daughter's killers plead guilty
• Robert Abela: 'An important step to deliver justice in a case that represents a dark chapter'
• George Degiorgio’s courtroom rant to prosecution: ‘Your friends killed her’
• Metsola: ‘It’s now time to serve justice to those who ordered and paid for Daphne’s murder’