Live - Yorgen Fenech trial: Suspicious phone number was activated on just three occasions - FBI

Yorgen Fenech's trial moves into its second weekend, during which jurors are due to hear from experts from the American FBI after Friday's emotionally charged sitting.This testimony follows one of the trial's most harrowing days so far.On Friday, first responders, forensic experts, and crime scene investigators painstakingly retraced the events of 16 October 2017 and pieced together the aftermath of the car bomb that killed journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.Fenech, 44, has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder.Five men have already been convicted in connection with Caruana Galizia's assassination. Vince Muscat admitted his role in the murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Alfred and George Degiorgio each received 40-year prison sentences after pleading guilty in 2022, while Robert Agius and Jamie Vella were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2025 for supplying the bomb used in the attack.The prosecution is being led by Attorney General lawyers Godwin Cini, Anthony Vella and Danika Vella, assisted by Assistant Commissioner Keith Arnaud and Inspector Kurt Zahra. Fenech is represented by lawyers Charles Mercieca, Gianella Demarco and Gianluca Caruana Curran, while lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family. 9:36 The suspicious phone number was activated on just three occasions: 10 January 2017, 21 August 2017, and 16 October 2017. The January activity consisted only of a top-up text and a confirmation message, Fennern says. Fennern now turns to the activity recorded on 16 October, the day Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated.The device was switched on at 1:41am, over 12 hours before the bomb went off. From that point on, the network logged regular location updates roughly once every hour. Fennern explains that these location updates are routine network check-ins, adding that the mobile network is constantly checking where a device is located.At 2:58:55pm, the phone sent out the message that detonated the bomb and murdered the journalist. Seconds later, the device disappeared from the network.9:21 Fenner testifies that he analysed activity at a cell tower near the murder scene between 2:58pm and 3:16pm, identifying 53 unique phone numbers connected during that period. By October 23, only one of those numbers had become inactive, marking it as a subject of interest. Fenner noted that the number was highly suspicious, as it had only been validated by the network three times in total: once in January, once in August, and for a final time on the day of the murder. Fennern shows the court a map pinpointing each of the cell towers included in his report. He asks the jurors to picture each cell tower like a clock with 360 degrees. Each circle marked on the map represents a Vodafone cell tower, Fennern explains, with every tower split into three sectors. These sectors provide coverage to a particular area. Fennern now zooms in on the Bidnija tower. He recalls that investigators requested the cell data for the Bidnija sector, narrowing the information down to the approximate time of the assassination.From there, investigators went on to identify about 50 phone numbers which were in contact with one another during the relevant timeframe. The next step, Fennern says, was to work out which of those numbers had since gone inactive. Only one number had disappeared from the records, and immediately stood out as suspicious.9:12 FBI expert Richard Fenner, a specialist in cellular analysis, began his testimony today. He described his initial work in Malta, where he met with local telecommunications providers to understand their network infrastructure and the positioning of cellular towers. He explained that each tower is assigned a unique identifier and provides 360-degree signal coverage. 9:10 The jurors have antered the courtroom and the proceedings are about to start.