LIVE | Maksar trial: Jury proceedings enter fifth day

Jamie Vella and Robert Agius cooperated with the police

Inspector Cassar’s testimony resumes and he identifies Jamie Vella and Robert Agius in the courtroom.

Defence lawyer Amadeus Cachia asks the witness to confirm the time stamps of the events he recounted. He confirmed that he arrived at the farmhouse at around 7am since the sun was already up.

Lawyer Cachia also asks the witness to confirm the whereabouts he was in, with Cassar replying that he was only instructed to arrest the suspects and not to investigate the area.

Upon cross examination, the Police Inspector confirms that upon their arrest, the two men accused cooperated fully with the authorities.

Sitting resumes

We are back in the courtroom, the sitting has resumed, and Madame Justice Grima and the members of the jury have returned in the courtroom.

Session suspended

The court session has been suspended briefly and is expected to continue in around 15 minutes.  

Jamie Vella is arrested at his Mosta farmhouse

Inspector Jonathan Cassar is next on the witness stand. He tells the court he is currently stationed at the St Julian’s police station, but at the time of the murder he was stationed with the police’s Drug Squad. On 4 December 2017, he was instructed to go to a farmhouse in Mosta and was handed the arrest warrant for Jamie Vella.

It was empty and locked when they went early in the morning, he says. The inspector and his team kept waiting for an hour, before a person arrived on site and identified himself as Vella’s father.

They entered the farmhouse, waiting for Vella to show up. After approximately two hours, Vella arrived on site together with Robert Agius, known as ‘Tal-Maksar’. Vella was arrested and read rights.

He informed Agius that there was also an arrest warrant in his name but it was not in his possession so he could not arrest him. However, Aguis’ warrant was later obtained and he was subsequently arrested. 

The inspector stayed on site as he was instructed to do so, but the search on the farmhouse was not carried out on the day. A police officer was instructed to keep lookout whilst Agius and Vella were taken to the police lock-up. The farmhouse is situated in the area of L-Għarusa tal-Mosta garden.

Overwhelming amount of evidence at murder site

Further footage captured by a drone is shown to the members of the jury. The footage shows white objects on the road. The jury hears that these were white sheets covering certain items which were expelled from the car during the explosion. 

A body part of the victim, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was also covered with a white sheet.

The footage shown also displays a number of blue boxes, leading to the damaged car. The blue boxes are used to be stepped on in order for inspectors or experts to access the car. This was done to properly preserve evidence.

Another police officer confirms his colleague’s testimony and explains that works were carried out on four sectors of evidence. Sites were split up into sectors due to the overwhelming amount of evidence. The main works by them were done on the damaged car before it was transferred to another place for further investigation.

Items were photographed and passed over to exhibit officers, he says.

Bird’s eye view of murder site shown to jurors

Inspector Charlot Casha takes the stand next. A photo is displayed on the courtroom television showing a bird’s eye view of various places where an explosion crater was created in the road tarmac following the bomb which killed Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

An explosion crater is a type of hole formed when material is ejected from the surface of the ground by an explosion, Debattista explains. Photos of the damaged vehicle in a nearby field close to the crater are shown. Photos of the concealed ‘vantage point’ are also shown to the members of the jury.

The inspector explains how a hole in a nearby fence was found, a destroyed rubble wall and a used cigarette butt too. A ‘vantage point’ is a certain place that provides and affords a clear view and perspective of a particular area. Reference was again made to photographs showing human faeces found close by to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder site.

Swieqi residence raided by police

Another residence in Swieqi was searched, Vella explains.

More digital devices were seized and taken in as evidence.

These searches were all documented in the reports. All the objects elevated were handed over to Europol by police inspector Formosa.

Police inspectors take the stand

Police inspector Antoine Fenech is first to take the stand on Tuesday. Prosecutor Godwin Cini makes reference to a report drafted by the witness. The report involved the findings of certain searches in a garage and in a flat in St Pauls Bay which were carried out between the days of 5-6 December 2017.

Police inspector Joseph Vella is next. Cini made reference to another report. The witnesses’ involvement: On 4 December 2017 he was informed by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud, to go on specific sites and take photographs. There was also a court expert on the site.

The sites were a factory in Marsa and a private residence in Żebbug. From the residence and the factory, several digital items were elevated including a number of mobile phones of different brands.

Good morning.

Our court reporter Maya Galea has just entered the courtroom along with the jurors.