In a trial that's already more dramatic than a Mediterranean soap opera, a Maltese jury has heard how the businessman accused of bankrolling the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was apparently so eager for the deed to be done that he texted from his boat about 'preparing champagne' to celebrate.

Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to a property empire that includes several Hilton hotels, is on trial for complicity in the murder that shook Malta and the world. Caruana Galizia died in a car bombing in October 2017, after her investigative reporting on senior politicians proved so damaging it triggered a snap general election. Because nothing says 'democracy' like blowing up a journalist.

The key witness, a taxi driver named Melvin Theuma, took the stand on Friday to begin his testimony. Theuma, who has been living under witness protection after agreeing to testify in return for a pardon, claims Fenech told him to contact a known criminal to arrange the killing, ostensibly to protect his uncle Raymond Fenech, the head of the family business. 'Bring him here, I need him to kill Daphne because she's going to publish information about Uncle Ray,' Theuma quoted Fenech as saying. Though Theuma has previously testified that the explanation later shifted to stopping revelations about Yorgen himself.

The two men were friends, though Theuma described the relationship as far from equal. 'He's a lion and I'm a mosquito,' he told the jury. The taxi driver, who bonded with Fenech over horseracing and betting, is considered crucial to the prosecution's case, having recorded multiple conversations with Fenech after the murder.

Before testifying, Theuma had to be certified fit to give evidence - he previously tried to take his own life, swallowing acid and slitting his throat in 2020. He was allowed to testify seated, with his back to Fenech, citing intimidation concerns. He began by apologizing to the victim's family: 'My cross was too much to bear; I can't imagine what theirs was like.'

Theuma described how, after receiving the order, he went to the docks in Marsa, where the hitmen - brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and associate Vincent Muscat - used a warehouse known as the 'potato shed.' He told Alfred Degiorgio, 'I have someone who wants to kill Daphne Caruana Galizia.' Alfred asked if the person could pay; Theuma said yes.

But the plot hit a snag when Malta's then-prime minister, Joseph Muscat, called a snap general election. Fenech asked Theuma to call off the attack and instead place a €150,000 bet on Muscat winning a second term. When Muscat won a landslide in June 2017, Fenech rang that night, sounding tipsy, and told Theuma to 'go ahead with the Daphne job.' Theuma noted, 'I didn't do anything, he sounded drunk.'

A few days later, Fenech handed Theuma an envelope stuffed with cash, saying, 'It's the €150,000 to have Daphne killed.' The hitmen received a €30,000 deposit and began scoping the journalist's movements. Theuma was given a burner phone, which he took to Disneyland on a family holiday - because nothing says 'premeditated murder' like a trip to the Magic Kingdom. Fenech grew impatient, asking every few days, 'when will they kill her?' Once, from his boat, he texted that he was preparing champagne.

Fenech even helped plot Caruana Galizia's routine, identifying a cafe and restaurant she frequented. Theuma broke down describing the moment he learned of her death on TV: 'I was living a normal life, I didn't want for anything. Then I turned on the TV and saw that Daphne was dead. My life ended.' He also revealed he has been in regular contact with Caruana Galizia's sons, Matthew and Paul, who tell him he'll feel better after the trial. 'But I know I won't. The remorse is too great.'

Fenech denies the charges of complicity in voluntary homicide. The trial continues, presumably with more champagne-worthy revelations.