Seven years after a car bomb silenced one of Malta's most fearless investigative journalists, the man accused of orchestrating her death has finally spoken — not to confess, but to redirect. Yorgen Fenech's decision to testify transforms this trial from a question of guilt into a contest of narratives, placing Malta's political establishment itself in the dock of public scrutiny. At stake is not only one man's fate, but the integrity of a small nation's institutions and their capacity to pursue truth wherever it leads.
Fenech claims he was framed in Caruana Galizia murder, blames PM's top adviser
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb in October 2017, and the trial involves allegations of police cover-up and political manipulation.
Keith Schembri. He was almost fixated with Daphne.
Mark
Why would Fenech wait seven years to tell this story? Why not testify from the beginning?
Mimi
That's the question everyone's asking. Under Maltese law, he had the right to stay silent. Maybe he believed his lawyers could win without him. Maybe he was afraid. But at some point, silence stopped protecting him and started looking like guilt.
Mark
And this barbecue—does that detail feel credible to you, or is it too convenient?
Mimi
It's specific enough to be real. The brain tumor article, Schembri's emotional reaction, Theuma winding him up further. But it's also Fenech's version of events, told from inside the courtroom seven years later. The prosecution will say he's rewriting history.
Mark
What about the €150,000? If Fenech didn't pay it, who did?
Mimi
That's the crux of it. Theuma says Fenech paid him. Fenech says Theuma initiated the whole thing and he was just a messenger between Theuma and Schembri. The recordings Theuma made are the prosecution's strongest evidence.
Mark
Fenech claims police covered up Schembri's role. Is there any evidence of that, or is it just his word?
Mimi
He's alleging it, but proving it is another matter. Police say Schembri was never a suspect. Schembri testified and denied involvement. Without independent evidence of a cover-up, it's Fenech's accusation against the state's account.
Mark
What does the drug addiction admission do to his credibility?
Mimi
It cuts both ways. It shows vulnerability and honesty about how the stress destroyed him. But it also gives the prosecution ammunition—a man struggling with addiction, desperate, capable of anything. The judge and jury will have to decide if it makes him more or less believable.
Mark
If Schembri really was the mastermind, why hasn't he been charged?
Mimi
That's the question that haunts this trial. Either the evidence isn't there, or—as Fenech claims—it was covered up. Malta's judicial system will have to answer that when this is over.
El Pulso
- After seven years of silence, Fenech broke his legal right to remain quiet and spent four days constructing an alternative reality — one in which he is a pawn, not a mastermind.
- His testimony points directly at Keith Schembri, the former prime minister's most powerful aide, accusing him of ordering the killing as personal revenge for Caruana Galizia's reporting on his brain tumor.
- The prosecution fires back with taxi driver Melvin Theuma's account of a €150,000 payment and a blunt courtroom challenge: 'Your fingerprints are all over this.'
- Fenech describes a world of blackmail recordings, €400,000 in hush money, leaked Europol reports, and a drug addiction born from the weight of what he claims he was dragged into.
- With Schembri having already testified as a witness — not a suspect — the trial now tests whether Malta's judiciary will follow the evidence into the highest corridors of political power.
Seven years after a car bomb silenced one of Malta's most fearless investigative journalists, the man accused of orchestrating her death has finally spoken — not to confess, but to redirect. Yorgen Fenech's decision to testify transforms this trial from a question of guilt into a contest of narratives, placing Malta's political establishment itself in the dock of public scrutiny. At stake is not only one man's fate, but the integrity of a small nation's institutions and their capacity to pursue truth wherever it leads.
Seven years after his arrest, Yorgen Fenech finally took the stand in the murder trial of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The 44-year-old businessman spent four days under questioning, delivering a clear and consistent message: he was framed, the police fabricated the case against him, and the true architect of the 2017 car bombing was Keith Schembri — chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the most powerful unelected official in Malta at the time.
The prosecution's case rests largely on the testimony of Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who claims Fenech paid him €150,000 to hire the three men who planted the bomb. Fenech's account inverts this entirely. He described a barbecue at his family ranch where Schembri, emotionally raw over Caruana Galizia's reporting on his brain tumor, kept a file of her articles and spoke obsessively about her. Theuma, also present, allegedly stoked the tension. Weeks later, Theuma told Fenech during a drive to the airport that he had already made contact with people planning the murder and needed €120,000. When Fenech relayed this to Schembri, the response was immediate: 'go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.'
After the murder, Fenech testified, Schembri used him as a relay — passing warnings about police movements, sharing details of bomb evidence, and even leaking a confidential Europol report listing suspects. Theuma, meanwhile, had recorded their conversations and used them as leverage, extracting €400,000 from Fenech for the convicted bombers' legal costs. The pressure, Fenech said, drove him to drug addiction.
The prosecution challenged his version sharply, arguing that Fenech — not Theuma — held the real power in these relationships. 'Who are you trying to fool? Your fingerprints are all over this,' the prosecution's lawyer told him. Schembri, who testified as a witness rather than a suspect, denied any involvement. The trial continues, with its outcome carrying implications far beyond one man's guilt — touching the question of how deeply Malta's political elite may have been entangled in the silencing of its most prominent investigative journalist.
Seven years after his arrest, Yorgen Fenech finally took the stand to answer for the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The 44-year-old businessman spent four days under questioning, and his message was unambiguous: he had nothing to do with the killing, the police had fabricated the case against him, and the real architect of the crime was Keith Schembri, the most powerful unelected official in Malta's government at the time.
Fenech's decision to testify was itself a surprise. Under Maltese law, defendants can refuse to give evidence at their own trial, and for seven years he had exercised that right. But on Friday, he waived it and began laying out an alternative narrative to the prosecution's case. That case rests almost entirely on the word of Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who claims Fenech paid him €150,000 to hire three men to plant the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia in October 2017. Fenech's lawyers have consistently argued that Schembri, who served as chief of staff to then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, was the true instigator. Fenech's testimony doubled down on that claim.
According to Fenech's account, the idea of killing Caruana Galizia emerged during a barbecue at his family ranch. The journalist had published details about Schembri's brain tumor before he had disclosed the diagnosis to his own family. Fenech described Schembri as emotionally volatile on the subject, even obsessive—keeping a file of all Caruana Galizia's articles about him. Theuma, who was also present, allegedly inflamed the situation further, remarking that the journalist would "reap what she sows." When Theuma later approached Fenech in the kitchen suggesting they could "easily get rid of her," Fenech said he deflected the comment and offered him a drink instead.
But Theuma, according to Fenech's testimony, returned to the idea two weeks later during a drive to the airport. He told Fenech that he had already made contact with people who were planning to murder Caruana Galizia and wanted €120,000 to proceed. Fenech said he was shocked and initially hesitant to tell Schembri. When he finally did, Schembri's response was unequivocal: "go ahead, go ahead, go ahead." For Schembri, Fenech suggested, it was pure revenge—the journalist had crossed a line by writing about his personal medical condition.
Fenech's testimony painted a portrait of events spiraling beyond his control. He claimed that after the murder, Schembri used him as a conduit to relay messages to Theuma, including warnings about the impending arrest of the three men convicted of planting the bomb. When police moved to arrest George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vincent Muscat on December 4, 2017, Fenech said he had passed along intelligence about the investigation—details about bomb codes and phone evidence—that Schembri had shared with him. He also claimed Schembri warned him of Theuma's arrest in 2019 and had even shared a confidential Europol report listing potential suspects.
The stress of the situation, Fenech testified, had devastated his life. Theuma had recorded conversations between them after the murder, and Fenech claimed those recordings were used as blackmail. He said he handed over €400,000 to Theuma to pass to the Degiorgio brothers for legal costs. The pressure drove him to drug addiction, he said—a bitter irony for someone who had spent his life opposing drugs, only to watch his brother struggle with addiction.
When the judge asked Fenech directly whether he knew who the real mastermind was, he answered without hesitation: Keith Schembri. Police have maintained that Schembri was never a suspect. He testified as a witness during the trial and denied any involvement in the murder. The prosecution's lawyer, Godwin Cini, pressed Fenech hard on his version of events, suggesting that Fenech himself held the power in these relationships, not Theuma. Cini ended his cross-examination with a blunt challenge: "Who are you trying to fool? Your fingerprints are all over this."
Fenech is pleading not guilty to complicity in Caruana Galizia's murder. The trial continues, with the outcome potentially exposing the degree to which Malta's highest political circles were entangled in the killing of one of the country's most prominent investigative journalists.
Citas Notables
Keith was very emotional. He felt very strongly about it. We had to tell him to calm down. He was almost fixated with Daphne.— Yorgen Fenech, describing Schembri's reaction to Caruana Galizia's reporting
Who are you trying to fool? Your fingerprints are all over this.— Prosecution lawyer Godwin Cini, challenging Fenech's testimony
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Crime & Justice