Criminologist says ‘top-tier’ underworld mastermind could be behind assassination

The mastermind behind the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is a ruthless and intelligent person – most probably a male – who took months to plan and implement the car bomb attack, and who had high-level contacts with organised crime, an expert criminologist has said.

John Charles Ellul, former head of the police corps’ Forensic laboratory and now an assistant lecturer in Criminology at the University of Malta, told MaltaToday that to execute a bomb attack like the one which killed Caruana Galizia would have involved months of meticulous planning.

“The decision to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia was definitely not a spur of the moment impulse and was certainly not taken lightly,” he said.

Ellul said that the mastermind must have been aware of the consequences of his decision.

“He would certainly have been aware that such a crime carries Malta’s harshest penalty at law – life imprisonment – if caught and found guilty. He would also have been aware of the value of the human life he was considering snuffing out,” he said. “And yet, this ruthless person, still decided to go ahead and start making plans to have Daphne killed.”

Ellul said that the mastermind was probably a male, since very few women had the underworld contacts – or access to them – that would have been necessary to plan and implement such an attack.

“The mastermind would also have been aware of the national upheaval Caruana Galizia’s murder would generate, but ultimately was not phased by any of this,” he said.

Ellul insists that organised crime must have been involved in the attack and that top-tier underworld figures would have been involved in the decision as to whether to provide assistance, as well as the skilled operators and supplies, required.

“If the mastermind acted alone, and only used underworld contacts to purchase the explosive and the related equipment, he would need to be a very fit person, quick on his feet and agile,” he said. “He would not be too old, since he would need to move quickly when shadowing the victim, and when approaching her vehicle, planting the explosive and making his getaway.”

Ellul told MaltaToday that if the mastermind did not act alone, the other people involved would have been skilled operators, known only to a handful of the top figures in the criminal underworld. And they would not have been cheap.

He said it was evident by the precision of the attack on Caruana Galizia that this was not the work of street gutter thugs.

“Gaining access to such a level of expertise is not easy, nor is even knowing whom to contact or approach,” he said. “The mastermind probably already had open channels to organised crime.”