Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia Murder: Trial Against Mastermind Begins in Malta
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Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed when a bomb placed in her car blew up as she drove away from her home on the small Mediterranean island. |
Yorgen Fenech, 44, was arrested on a yacht off Malta in 2019. Fenech is accused of plotting the murder of Caruana Galizia, one of Malta's most well-known journalists. However, Fenech has denied the charges.
Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating allegations of corruption and kickbacks against an offshore company called "17 Black" when she was murdered.
Galizia's son, Paul Caruana Galizia, wrote on social media on July 1, 2026, "Nine years after my mother's murder, the man accused of orchestrating it is on trial."
Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed when a bomb planted in her car exploded as she was leaving her home on a small Mediterranean island.
The alleged mastermind of the murder, Yorgen Fenech, is accused of having entrusted Melvin Theuma, a former taxi driver, with planning the murder.
Journalists Killed in June 2025 #JournalistLivesMatter #Media #Press https://t.co/swLFBnoPz0
— VOiCE OF MEDIA (@voiceofmedia1) June 23, 2026
The three men who carried out the car bombings were arrested a few weeks after the murder and confessed to the crime at the start of their trial.
Taxi driver Theuma confessed to hiring three men to detonate the bomb in the journalist's car, telling authorities that he had received $170,000 in payment from Fenech.
Two of the bomb suppliers were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025, while a third suspect was given a reduced sentence in exchange for cooperating with the investigation.
The assassination led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in 2020. There were widespread protests against his government's handling of the investigation.
