Chilling details of the plot to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia have emerged in court this morning, with Vince Muscat revealing that the killers were willing to detonate a bomb even if other people were collateral damage.

Speaking in the case against Alfred Degiorgio and George Degiorgio, Muscat revealed that on one of the many times they stalked Caruana Galizia, the men followed her to the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana. It was Notte Bianca in 2017.

The men planned to place the bomb under the driver’s seat that evening. However, concerns were raised that she might not return alone.

“They said – we’ll go ahead, whoever is with her in the car, even if she’s with others,” Muscat said.

His response elicited an audible reply from Caruana Galizia’s family members. 

“We planned to plant the bomb and detonate it when she was on her way home. Not at Valletta. There are too many people in Valletta,” he continued.

The sitting, which is still underway, kicked off with Muscat apologising to the family for his role in the murder, more than three years after his arrest and charge. 

Muscat told the court that the men initially were looking to shoot Caruana Galizia, procuring four rifles from Robert Agius and Jamie Vella. 

After scouting the area for several weeks from a vantage point by Gnien L-Gharusa in Mosta, the men eventually ventured close to Caruana Galizia’s home by foot. 

They reached a window where they could see Caruana Galizia sitting on a sofa, writing. She was about 10 metres away, Muscat said. 

“She sometimes worked till 2am,” Muscat told the court. 

“We had prepared the spot for the shooting. We removed some stones, put the sandbags. We had been given four rifles by Robert tal-Maksar, Jamie Vella,” he continued

One evening, the hitmen agreed to carry out the murder. 

“I was ready to call George so that as soon as he fired, he would come with the getaway car. We had weapons in the car (AK47) in case something happened on our way to the garage. George was to come for us in a stolen Toyota Vitz garaged at Naxxar. But George got cold feet because of a possible roadblock. It was around 11pm.”

George Degiorgio, he said, was always in favour of using a bomb.

The men soon returned the weapons and were given three bombs in return.

Muscat revealed that either Agius or Vella contained around 500g of gelignite after George Degiorgio raised concerns that it would not be fatal, as had happened with Romeo Bone, who lost both of his legs in an Msida car bomb.

Vella advised them to put the bomb on the driver’s side of the vehicle. 

The bomb was put in a small children’s shoebox. It was a “sophisticated device”, Muscat said, explaining that it would be activated with a mobile phone. 

“It was made of stainless steel, sophisticated, clearly foreign made. It had a casing, some 6 inches by 5 inches and some 1.5 inches thick. It had a slot for a SIM card,” he said. 

“It had a particular message which would activate it. We were told that there was some seven seconds interval until it went off.”

Muscat will continue testifying today. He has already pleaded guilty to the charges and has been sentenced to 15 years for the crime. He could be released by December 2027. 

He is also giving evidence against Agius and Vella for their role in the murder.

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