Criminology - Introducing: Who Killed Daphne?

Episode Date: July 11, 2022

When a car bomb kills Daphne Caruana Galizia on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta, the hunt for her killers exposes secrets with consequences that go far beyond its shores. In the aftermath of her death, an international team of journalists comes together to continue her work. Along the way, they start to uncover clues that might lead to her killers. From Wondery, comes a new story about power, corruption, and one woman's fight for the truth. Hosted by investigative reporter Stephen Grey. Listen to Who Killed Daphne? - http://wondery.fm/Criminology_DAPHNE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey folks, we've got a podcast that we really think you're going to love. Daphne Caruana Galicia was a household name for her fearless reporting on government corruption and the Panama Papers. Nothing got in the way of her search for the truth until she was suddenly murdered by a car bomb explosion right outside of her own home. Disturbed by police in action, her son Matthew turns to the international journalism community to find answers. And what they find is a shocking trail of government corruption, covered up crimes, and deception that rises all the way to the top. From Wondry, Who Killed Daphne is a new six-part

podcast series hosted by investigative reporter Stephen Gregg about the mysterious assassination of a blogger and investigative journalist that exposed some of the most scandalous secrets of the rich and powerful. As the investigation unfolds, answers, become more complex, revealing immense scandals, offshore companies, and corrupt politicians. What was Daphne going to expose? Why was she murdered? Her family is determined to find answers and to get justice for Daphne no matter who stands in their way. You're about to hear a preview of Who Killed Daphne. Listen to Who Killed Daphne on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or you can listen early ad-free and in Dolby Atmos by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

On the morning of October 16th, 2017, Matthew woke up and looked at the time. It was late, after nine. It was Monday, so my inbox was flooded. There were a million things to do. I didn't have time for breakfast. He could hear footsteps in the dining room. It was his mother. He got up, pulled on some clothes, and came out of his room. My mother was already working. She was making phone calls and answering messages. I was completely focused on what I was doing. It was just very quiet. The air was solid and there was this very bright light streaming through the house. His mum seemed preoccupied. She was in the middle of a legal battle. A few months before, she'd written that Malta's economy minister had visited a brothel while on state business in Germany.

The minister was suing her for libel and And now the court had frozen her bank account. Her phone rang. It was the bank. She said, look, I'll just come into the office and we'll talk about it. And she made an appointment for three o'clock. But before that, she had a lot to do. They sat near each other, Matthew catching up on emails,

his mother typing up a post for her website. Normally my mother and I would have lunch together, but there was no time for it. She was constantly on the phone talking to sources and other people. But she still found time to cut up some tomato and mozzarella and place it next to him. She called the bank to tell them that she was late, typed out her last blog post, published it, approved some comments, replied to some others on her blog. And she told me, I'm going out to the bank now. I'll be back between 4 and 5pm. She walked out of the house. I said bye. Maybe 15 seconds later, I heard her walking up to the house again.

and she came into the house, I kind of flustered, and said, I forgot my checkbook. With her account frozen, she had to use her husband's checks to pay for things. After picking up her checkbook, my mother just said, okay, no, I'm really going. And walked out of the house, I heard her walking away. I pressed to resume on the laptop, to continue playing the music I was listening.

to. Then I heard an explosion. I slammed, shot my laptop, kind of leapt up, got to the door, and as I opened the door, dogs were barking uncontrollably, and I just felt like I was going to faint. But somehow, I don't know what happened. A load of adrenaline kicked in, and I just I just sprinted off. He ran through the garden. to the gates. I kept running and then I saw the plume of smoke. It was, I don't know, 200, 300 meters high. It was like a tower of thick black smoke.

I've never seen anything like it. It looks like, I don't know, the fire of hell. He kept going, barefoot down the gravel lane. I could see that the trees were burning at the side of the road. But all I could see on the ground was just, a whole load of shattered plastic and shattered glass. I thought, hold on, what's happened here? Maybe 200 meters right in front of me,

there was a huge ball of fire. He ran across the field towards the flames, praying to himself. Please God, please God, be another car. I couldn't see the number plate. I couldn't see the color of the car. I couldn't tell what kind of a car it was. I ran around, and in the front I could just,

make out one of the hubcaps. I saw the logo of Peugeot. And at that moment, I thought, shit. You've just heard a preview of Who Killed Daphne. Listen to the rest of this episode, wherever you get your podcasts.