Malta’s Hilton heir acquitted in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case as prosecutors seek life sentence

Yorgen Fenech, the Maltese businessman accused of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, has been acquitted by a Malta court. The verdict came in a case that has shaken the country’s politics and drawn international attention.

A jury of six women and three men found Fenech not guilty on both charges: complicity in intentional homicide and criminal conspiracy. The jurors rejected the accusations by an 8-1 vote. Caruana Galizia’s family and members of the press attended the verdict.

Prosecutors alleged that Fenech arranged the car-bomb attack that killed the 53-year-old journalist in October 2017. Her reporting had examined Fenech’s business affairs and those of prominent Maltese political figures. Prosecutor Anthony Vella told jurors that Fenech believed his political connections gave him enough influence to escape legal consequences. “You are being asked to decide whether a man who had extensive contacts in politics and among the leaders of public entities had enough power to pay for Daphne to be killed,” Vella said.

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You are being asked to decide whether a man who had extensive contacts in politics and among the leaders of public entities had enough power to pay for Daphne to be killed.

Investigators accused Fenech of paying €150,000 through Melvin Theuma, an intermediary allegedly linked to the killers. Prosecutors sought a life sentence during the two-month trial, which also examined Fenech’s relationships with figures in Malta’s politics and administration and allegations of attempts to influence or obstruct the investigation.

Key witnesses and Fenech himself said Keith Schembri, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, had passed confidential information to the businessman on several occasions. Fenech’s lawyers said the real chain of command led to a higher political level, identified Schembri as a possible beneficiary and accused police of failing to investigate those suspicions. “All roads lead to Keith, and all bridges to Keith have been burned,” one defense lawyer told the court. Prosecutors are expected to appeal the acquittal.

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All roads lead to Keith, and all bridges to Keith have been burned.