Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546491
YORGEN Fenech's alleged in- volvement in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was well-documented in Melvin Theuma's recordings. Fenech even requested a presidential pardon when interrogated by police officers. Despite this, and the moun- tain of evidence against him, the man at the centre of court pro- ceedings which dominated the past two months is now a free man. The shocking 8-1 not guilty verdict on both the charge of conspiracy and complicity in wilful homicide was in no small part the result of the defence and its ability to build a narra- tive the jury clearly believed. Keith Schembri and author- ities' lack of investigation into him Former prime minister Jo- seph Muscat's chief of staff Keith Schembri was among the most crucial point of attack for the defence lawyers. His influ- ence and power in Castille was well-documented, even before the trial. The defence's thesis in the Caruana Galizia murder re- volved around the belief Yorgen Fenech was not the mastermind, but instead was the scapegoat being framed by Keith Schem- bri. During her cross-examination of various witnesses, defence lawyer Giannella de Marco planted the idea in jurors' minds that other players in the murder plot were also in on Fenech's supposed frame-up. This narrative was evident from the defence's very first cross-examination on the sixth day of the trial when lead inves- tigator Keith Arnaud took the witness stand. It was in this sitting that jurors also learned not all of Melvin Theuma's recordings were filed as evidence, leaving the con- tents of the lost recordings as the subject of endless specula- tion throughout the trial. The lead investigator further testified Keith Schembri's mo- bile phone was never recovered by authorities, while the phone belonging to Kenneth Camill- eri, the OPM security official who had been sent by Schembri to calm Melvin Theuma down, was never seized by police. The defence didn't need to work too hard to convince ju- rors authorities botched the murder investigation in order to protect Schembri, who at the time was the second-most pow- erful man in Castille. Former Scene Of Crime Of- ficer Michelle Camilleri testified when she was present during the raid on Keith Schembri's home in November 2019, lead investigator Keith Arnaud in- structed officers they were only to take the devices handed to them or indicated by Schembri. The electronic devices seized that day included two Apple MacBook laptops belonging to Schembri's daughters, another Dell laptop in the living room, an Asus tablet in the study, and an iPad found on his bed- side table. Not one, but two mobile phones photographed at Schembri's house were not seized, as the witness explained they were not indicated by the former chief of staff. The crime scene officer admit- ted this was far from an ordinary seizure, as she described how Schembri's lawyer was present during the house search, lead- ing jurors to believe that he was tipped off prior to the search. On the topic of Keith Schem- bri's missing mobile phone, ju- rors could hear the disgraced former chief of staff himself try to convince them that workers who were carrying out works in his home stole his phone. Schembri's untrustworthiness was further confirmed through- out his testimony, when he con- tinuously contradicted previous witness testimony and forgot certain details that might cast doubt on him. Melvin Theuma: The untrust- worthy star witness Keith Schembri was also in- strumental in the defence's other strategy: discrediting the state's star witness pardoned middleman Melvin Theuma. Unprompted, Schembri had described the middleman as "the biggest liar in Malta." Theuma himself was also no match for defence lawyer Gi- annella de Marco during his cross-examination. Throughout his time on the witness stand, the defence portrayed Theuma as a career criminal who amassed wealth through his criminal activities. On the middleman's involve- ment in the murder itself, the defence challenged Theuma when he spoke about his re- morse over killing Caruana Gal- izia. Giannella de Marco managed to portray the man who could tie the hitmen to the master- mind as an untrustworthy liar who said and did anything to avoid jail time. This portrayal was clearly evident when jurors heard Theuma speak about the letter he had written as a safe- guard in case anything hap- pened to him. In that letter, he accused Keith Schembri alongside Yorgen Fenech of masterminding the murder. But when confront- ed about it in front of the jury, Theuma denied his own version of events, dismissing it as the re- sult of "the chaos" in his mind at the time. The prosecution's star witness even screamed "I lied" in court when pressed on his previous statements on Keith Schembri. Whatever jurors knew about Melvin Theuma and his credi- bility before they were selected to deliver a verdict, their opin- ion of him and his trustworthi- ness was surely swayed after his cross-examination. YORGEN FENECH TRIAL SUNDAY • 6 SEPTEMBER 2026 | maltatoday The legal game plan which led to Yorgen Fenech walking free Murder middleman Melvin Theuma and former Office of the Prime Minister Chief of Staff Keith Schembri took centre stage in Yorgen Fenech's jury trial. We look at how the Fenech defence team's targeting of them led to their client walking free MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Left to right: The defence was led by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Gianluca Caruana Curran and Gianella de Demarco (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)