Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535569
4 NEWS 4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 MAY 2025 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In relation to Chircop's killing, Arnaud described how the victim was discovered in his garage, fatally shot. His son who typi- cally accompanied him on his way to work, had luckily remained home that day due to a cancelled lecture. CCTV footage also helped the police iden- tify a suspicious Toyota Ractis vehicle seen fleeing the area shortly after gunshots were heard by witnesses. Footage also showed a certain man, Augustine Grixti, who dis- covered the body and was seen distressed calling for help from the footage. The investigation revealed Chircop's fi- nancial disputes with multiple individuals one of them being Adrian Agius, one of the directors of the More Supermarkets chain. Agius owed Chircop €600,000. Chircop's wife revealed that her husband would frequently argue with Agius, chasing him for the unpaid debt. This was consid- ered as motive against Chircop and Agius was arrested but he was later released due to insufficient evidence linking him directly to the murder. Arnaud also gave a detailed account of the bombing of Daphne Caruana Galizia. He explained how authorities identified her Peugeot 108 as the victim's vehicle and established a timeline through CCTV and mobile data. Investigators identified a van- tage point known as Tarġa Battery, where a dismantled rubble wall and a cigarette butt suggested the area as a potential vantage spot used to monitor Caruana Galizia. Two phones, which were activated in Jan- uary 2017 were communicating only with each other which was very suspicious to the police as a mobile number usually commu- nicates with many different numbers. The phone's activity was traced to an area in Bidnija. One of these devices was connected to a SIM card installed in the bomb's triggering mechanism. The SIM card was triggered after the fatal SMS command was sent at 2:58 pm on 16 October 2017. Further analysis of mobile phone data and activity revealed that the fatal message was sent from Valletta, with the second device being traced to various areas around the Grand Harbour. Surveillance footage matched the pres- ence of a boat, 'Maya', registered to Alfred Degiorgio. The vessel was seen leaving the harbour shortly before the explosion and returning soon afterward. Degiorgio later used his personal phone to ask a telecom employee to top up the phone just minutes before the fatal mes- sage was sent. Moments later, he sent a celebratory message to his wife: "Open a bottle of wine for me, baby." Following the arrests, police recovered several mobile phones, including six Nokia devices, one of them being phone that sent the detonation SMS. These were retrieved from the sea near the Marsa potato shed. During George Degorgio's arrest, Arnaud had noted that he had written his wife's phone number on his wrist. This suggest- ed that the accused men knew they were about to be arrested and had discarded all electronic devices. The cigarette butt found at the vantage point also resulted to be of Alfred Degorgio, Arnaud explains. Arnaud speaks on Vince Muscat's revelations Later, Arnaud said lawyer Arthur Azzo- pardi had informed him his client, Vince Muscat wished to speak to the police. Dur- ing his statements, Muscat named Melvin Theuma and requested a pardon in ex- change for information. Muscat had also told the police that the Maksar brothers supplied the bomb used in the assassination. Police began investigating Theuma after Muscat's statements in 2018. A surveillance camera was placed near a house in Marsa frequented by Theuma, belonging to Mario Degiorgio, brother to Alfred and George. The footage confirmed that Theuma was in contact with the jailed brothers. Muscat also recounted an incident where he and one of the Degiorgios followed Daphne near the Phoenicia Hotel. He re- called Jamie Vella saying, "Make sure the bomb explodes her". On 24 April, Muscat gave additional in- formation, including how the Degiorgio brothers communicated while George was at sea on the day of the murder. One broth- er remarked, "She went back inside," short- ly before the explosion. He also explained to Arnaud that the bomb had a plastic bot- tle filled with petrol attached to ensure a big explosion. Muscat also recounted collecting the money for the murder from Melvin Theu- ma in Marsaskala with Alfred Degiorgio. He remained in the car as a precaution in case they needed to flee quickly with the money. After Chris Cardona's name surfaced in the media in connection with a separate case, the Degiorgio brothers plotted to blame Cardona and were going to say that he had paid €1 million for the murders. The witness also mentioned the case of Jonathan Pace, who had been charged with the attempted murder of Vince Muscat, known as "il-Koħħu." Pace used to man- age the shop "Tyson Butcher" in Żejtun and was accused of firing six shots with a small-caliber pistol, three of which struck Muscat. Pace, a 31-year-old from Gudja, was killed a few weeks later by multiple gunshots that hit him in the chest, back, and legs In July, it was decided that a patrol outside Muscat's residence was to be carried out. This was due to fear that Muscat's life was in danger following his revelations. Arnaud said that the Degorgio brothers had confronted Muscat on what was hap- pening, making him fear for his life even more. Moreover, according to Muscat, Theuma used to bother them to hurry the plan of the murder because his boss was pushing him. Muscat had also spoken to Arnaud about the 2015 murder plot to kill Caruana Gal- izia which never actually happened. They had begun surveying her but later aban- doned the plan because they were never paid. Prosecutors Godwin Cini, Danika Vella and Anthony Vella are representing the At- torney General's office. Defence lawyer Nicholas Mifsud is ap- pearing for Adrian Agius, Ishmael Psaila and Amadeus Cachia for Jamie Vella, Al- fred Abela and Rene Darmanin represent- ing Robert Agius, and Noel Bianco and Les- lie Cuschieri for George Degiorgio. Jason Azzopardi and Therese Comodini Cachia are assisting the Caruana Galizia family, while Vince Galea is assisting the Chircop family. Keith Arnaud tells court 'Degiorgio spent two whole days drinking' after Daphne murder Archbishop warns priests backing euthanasia are not honouring their duty ARCHBISHOP Charles Scicluna has warned that priests who speak in favour of euthanasia are "failing to honour their duty as Catholic shepherds". "The People of God expect to receive light on the truth of the Gospel of Life from their Priests and Bishops," Archbish- op Scicluna said on social media. "Pas- tors who express themselves in favour of euthanasia, a deliberate act to terminate human life before its natural end, fail to honour their duty as Catholic shepherds." The comment came after a priest ap- peared to support the government's proposed voluntary assisted euthanasia framework on national television. The discussion took place on F Living during a programme hosted by Karl Bonaci on Monday. Earlier this month, the government launched a public consultation on vol- untary assisted dying, proposing a tightly regulated framework limited to mentally competent adults suffering from a termi- nal illness expected to lead to death within six months. Speaking on the programme hosted by Karl Bonaci, Fr Colin Apap said that in difficult moments of illness and death, compassion must be shown not only to the person suffering but also to their fami- ly. "If we don't have a heart to feel that you can show compassion, then what are we doing?" he said. He continued that while people can agree or disagree on the issue, the real test is in how we respect one another during the debate. "We are talking about a gov- ernment that is not confessional. Our gov- ernment is not a Catholic government for Catholics, it is for all citizens." Apap said that the Labour Party had pro- posed discussing euthanasia as part of its electoral programme. He noted that while he prefers the term "assisted dying", which he said helps people die with dignity, he recognised that the term "euthanasia" was used in the consultation framework. "There needs to be respect first between us," he said, adding that God does not want suffering. "God gave us a brain to use it so that suffering, if possible, is not there." He explained that, according to Catho- lic theology, suffering entered the world through original sin, not by God's design. "God's plan was for man to live happily forever. Then man rebelled, and death and suffering came in." Apap stressed that the discussion must continue, especially when people are in extreme pain or dealing with the suffering of loved ones. "Today, people are resign- ing themselves because they say, 'I can't take it anymore'." The priest showed support for the framework and the safeguards being sug- gested in the ongoing public consultation launched by the government.