The trial inside
Hall 22.

The prosecution’s case is that Yorgen Fenech commissioned and financed the October 2017 murder, using Melvin Theuma as an intermediary to the men who carried it out. The defence contests that account and has repeatedly redirected attention toward Keith Schembri, gaps in the investigation and the credibility of pardoned or convicted witnesses.

The opening week established the legal frame and traced the investigation: from the Bidnija bomb scene, through a stalled inquiry, to Theuma’s covert recordings and Fenech’s 2019 arrest. The court then moved through graphic forensic and digital evidence—TNT residue, the bomb’s placement beneath the driver’s seat, burner-phone movements and the fatal SMS.

The centre of gravity later shifted to people. Vince Muscat and the Degiorgio brothers described the planning and execution while making contested allegations about Chris Cardona, Keith Schembri and David Gatt. Police witnesses were pressed on missing devices, a phantom government job, the scope of Theuma’s pardon and his unexplained wealth. Edgar Brincat and Johann Cremona then recounted Theuma’s fears, recordings, payments and conversations. By day 25, Keith Schembri’s own evidence—and the cross-examination of it—had become the trial’s focal point.