Daphne murder case is far from solved

We have been told, ad nauseam, that the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the most notorious crime in recent memory, has been solved.

They keep telling us that the three suspects were caught and arraigned within two months of the murder, and that the alleged mastermind was also identified and is undergoing court proceedings, as if the case has been closed and everyone can now rest.

But the truth is that this case is still wide open.

While the people who allegedly commissioned and committed the crime are behind bars awaiting trial, many others with links to the case are still walking free, despite the mounting evidence and allegations against them.

Chief among them is Keith Schembri, Joseph Muscat’s former Chief of Staff, who knew to some degree about Yorgen Fenech’s role in the murder. In fact, one of the last people Fenech called before he tried to flee was Schembri. The former Chief of Staff is also facing claims that he was leaking information from the investigation to his friend.

Schembri denies the claims, but the phone he used at the time famously disappeared, never to be seen again.

This week, the family doctor used by both Schembri and Fenech, Adrian Vella, said under oath that he had delivered a written message from Schembri to the 17 Black owner.

Schembri had denied passing on the note, but the doctor told the court in no unclear terms this week that he had picked up the letter by hand from Schembri’s Mellieħa home and delivered them to Fenech.

Someone has committed perjury, a serious crime, and the police must get to the bottom of it, and fast.

While the doctor claims he did not read the message, it is believed that the note contained instructions to pin the murder on former Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

The letter allegedly prompted an angry reaction from Fenech, who declared that, “if I go down, I will take everyone down with me.” This is a clear indication that Fenech was not acting alone and that there are others who must face justice.

The agitated doctor also said that, when the police went to arrest him, his first thought was to call Schembri, because he would help him. Schembri, he said, had told him not to open “if they were knocking heavily.”

He also deleted his WhatsApp messages with Schembri because they were “personal,” but insisted he did not do so on Schembri’s advice.

The doctor also testified about the infamous Gozo weekend where Fenech and his brother Franco allegedly discussed the escape … a trip so sensitive that “rockets and submarines” and “legal” trips were discussed.

This is not the first time that Schembri’s alleged knowledge and involvement in the case has been brought up in the courtroom. Fenech himself has claimed that Schembri would keep him informed about the investigation, and had even told him about the impending arrest of the three suspects in 2017.

The question is, why would Schembri keep Fenech informed unless he knew of the former’s involvement?

Another bombshell claim this week – by Caruana Galizia family lawyer Jason Azzopardi – was that Schembri had also leaked the terms of Melvin Theuma’s pardon to Fenech in a WhatsApp message. The phone used for this alleged correspondence was presumably the same one that disappeared into thin air.

The case also took another twist recently when it emerged that Fenech claimed with the police, in November of last year, that then PM Joseph Muscat had asked him whether Schembri featured in Theuma’s recordings. Muscat was questioned at the police HQ on Friday but said, after the session, that he was told he is not under investigation. Muscat claims Fenech made up the allegation because he was refused a presidential pardon.

The fact is that, in view of all these new revelations, it is harder to understand how the police have not yet prosecuted Keith Schembri, and if they ever will.

There are, of course, other individuals who ought to be investigated, like Fenech’s brother who, according to the claims, was aware of the case and had been part of the discussion on an escape attempt.

The case is far from over. It seems that the investigators have only scratched the surface so far, and that much more police resources are needed to bust this case wide open.

Arraigning the murder suspects and the masterminds alone is not enough. It is clear that many more are involved in some way or another, whether they acted as masterminds, messengers or accomplices in an attempted cover up and escape.

All those responsible must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and brought to justice.