Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546491
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2026 YORGEN FENECH TRIAL The Yorgen Fenech trial in their own words ON Wednesday, Yorgen Fenech was acquitted of all charges related to master- minding the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. After nearly two months of evidence and testimony, jurors found Fenech not guilty by a vote of 8-1 on both charges he faced: complicity in the wilful homicide of Caruana Galizia and association with a person or persons for the purpose of committing a crime in Malta. MaltaToday looked back at the 55-day trial and picked the most-impactful, shocking and often contradictory quotes which emerged from court over the past two months. Yorgen Fenech "I did not pay a dime for the murder." Judge Edwina Grima: "Do you know who the mastermind is?" Yorgen Fenech: "Keith Schem- bri, Madam Justice." "[Keith Schembri's] finger- prints are all over it, you're just not seeing it." "[Melvin Theuma, Yorgen Fenech, Keith Schembri] once again started to discuss the blog. Out of nowhere, Melvin said: 'We will get rid of her easi- ly. She'll get what's coming for her.' I left to smoke a cigarette." " W h e n I entered the car, [Theuma] told me: 'A plan is under- way to kill Caruana Galizia.'" "I was present when Schem- bri gave money to Theuma." "[Keith] told me to pass on a message to Melvin. Keith told me not to tell Melvin, but police were closing in on the Marsa potato shed gang. I agreed to pass on the message. I think passing on that message was the biggest mistake of my life." "I know Keith heard the re- cordings Theuma made of him. I don't believe Theuma got rid of them. I believe they still exist today." Melvin Theuma "I wanted [Fenech] as a shield for me, because I wanted no- body to be able to do anything to me." "Fenech told me: 'Our power is money.'" "[Yorgen Fenech] used to tell me that, under Labour, no one can touch him." "I only met Keith once." "I went [to Castille to meet Keith Schembri] once. I keep saying I went once." "I only met [Keith Schembri] twice." "I met with Keith Schembri at Castille a few days after Yorgen ordered her killing." "I was afraid of both Keith and Yorgen. The two of them were going to kill me." "I wasn't afraid of [Yor- gen Fenech]. I was on- ly afraid we would get caught." "I knew [Keith Schembri] would walk through fire for Yor- gen." "Keith Schembri had nothing to do with the murder." In his recordings, Melvin Theuma is heard saying: "Keith is defi- nitely an accom- plice." In court, h e says this was "a mistake." "If I had record- ing everything, this case would have been done and dusted ages ago." "I never recorded anything with Keith." "I recorded Keith because Yorgen Fenech mentions him in the recordings." "Ġojja used to say that the Secret Service were all 'Keith's children.'" "[Kenneth Camilleri] told me that we were going to paint it as though I was not involved in anything, as if the police don't know anything." Keith Schembri "The police informed me Yorgen Fenech was being in- terrogated. It was either Keith Arnaud or Keith Zahra. I was informed about all that was go- ing on." "I didn't know [Melvin Theu- ma]." "[Melvin Theuma] lies about everyone." "I always worked from my mobile phone. Muscat and I were constantly working from our mobiles. Robert Abela is the same." Defence: "You use people and then hide your hands." Keith Schembri: "That's what happens in politics." "Look me in the eyes and you will see the truth." Inspector Kurt Zahra Claimed that the indications which emerged from the in- vestigation was that the infor- mation passed "through Keith, then Yorgen, then Melvin." Said the investigation indicat- ed that the information passed "through Keith, then Yorgen, then Melvin." Reading from Vince Muscat's statement: "C (Keith Schem- bri) and D (Chris Cardona) were involved." Scene Of Crime Officer Michelle Camilleri On Keith Schembri's house search: "My col- league called Keith Ar- naud for proper instructions because we were confused. He told us to only take those items indicated to us by Schembri." "We didn't pick [the mobiles] up because they were not indi- cated to us by [Keith Schem- bri]." Told the court that investi- gators "Did not even open a drawer or wardrobe" during Keith Schembri villa search. Scene Of Crime Of- ficer Mario Azzopardi On Keith Schembri's house search: "That was the only time in my 19 years [of working in the police force] that lawyers have ever accompanied us to a house search." "[Keith Schembri] would point at the items and we would take those." Inspector Keith Arnaud "We investigated every lead." "Schembri was mentioned all the time." "The evidence does not in- dicate that anyone other than those charged was involved in this case." Kenneth Camilleri "[Keith Schembri] was the prime minister's chief of staff. If that wouldn't make you afraid, I don't know what would." "Keith told me to call Johann, tell him to pick me up, and go. That's what I did. I didn't ask Keith questions." "I tried to speak to Keith Schembri more t h a n once. These w e r e n ' t the kinds of things you dis- c u s s over the phone. I wanted to ask [Keith Schembri] what he had dragged me into by sending me [to Theuma's house]." On trying to tell former prime minister Joseph Muscat about Melvin Theuma: "[Jo- seph Muscat] told me: 'It's best that I don't know.'" Johann Cremona "Keith Schembri was in- volved in everything." "Can I take the blame for everything?" George Degiorgio "Melvin hasn't told you everything. Melvin knows its Keith Schembri. Keith sent Melvin to the potato shed. Melvin said so. I confirmed it with Chris Cardona." "In 2015, [Keith Schembri] gave me an order [to kill Daph- ne Caruana Galizia]. Chris Car- dona told me Daphne Caruana Galizia had to be killed because she [was] going to destroy the Labour Party." "In 2017, they promised us two containers of contraband cigarettes a year and a fuel sta- tion in Xemxija." "If Melvin mentioned Keith Schembri, they wouldn't have given him the pardon." Speaking to Melvin Theuma in court: "You've got no balls. They didn't give us the pardon because we were going to men- tion everything, even all the politicians. We weren't given a pardon because we've got balls, unlike [Melvin Theuma]." Vince Muscat "They wanted Daphne dead, not injured." "If you're not going to ask [Chris Cardona], then who are you going to ask?" Alfred Degiorgio "I have no doubt that Keith Schembri, Chris Cardona, and David Gatt are involved." "You don't know how dangerous these three people are." EVA BRANNON ebrannon@mediatoday.com.mt