Defense lawyer blames former chief of staff in Malta journalist murder trial

During the ongoing trial of Yorgen Fenech, accused of orchestrating the 2017 car-bomb attack that killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, defense attorney Charles Mercieca asserted that former chief of staff Keith Schembri was the actual mastermind. Mercieca criticized police for not pursuing leads that could incriminate Schembri, noting the former official maintained a file of the journalist’s reporting, including pieces on his health.

He also challenged the reliability of Melvin Theuma, the pardoned intermediary who had named Fenech as the financier of the hit, describing Theuma’s testimony as a “fairytale.” Fenech, who acknowledges giving Theuma money but says it was not for the murder, denies all charges. The case, which started on July 1 after years of delays, is expected to finish in the coming month, with Fenech facing life imprisonment if convicted of complicity and up to 18 years for a secondary charge of criminal association.