The murder suspect took on a scathing tone against his lawyers – legal aid lawyers Simon Micallef Stafrace and Martin Farrugia – saying they weren’t prepared to take on his defence and that he wanted a defence “with balls”.

And to no one in particular, he said “perhaps we’ll meet in hell”. 

Meanwhile Alfred Degiorgio, who recently went on hunger striker in protest at how he and his brother weren’t given a lawyer of their choice, appeared at the trial in a wheelchair, covered in a blanket and with an IV line attached to his arm. 

The court ordered that he be placed on 24/7 watch by a nurse and doctor, who have been instructed to inform the courts if his condition deteriorates.

George and Alfred Degiorgio were arrested in December 2017, along with Vince Muscat, who was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the murder last year as part of a plea deal.

The brothers have tried many avenues to stall or stop the murder case, including a number of requests for a presidential pardon in return for naming more people allegedly involved in the assassination. 

During a recent interview with a Reuters journalist as part of the Wondery podcast Who Killed Daphne?, George Degiorgio confessed to the murder, stating that it was “just business” and that he and his brother “would not go down alone”.

In the interview, Degiorgio said he was willing to testify that a major Maltese politician had tried to plan an assassination of Daphne two years before her murder.