Prosecutors have told jurors hearing the trial of Yorgen Fenech that their objective was to uncover the “whole truth” about the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, as they rejected defence claims that Keith Schembri may have been the real mastermind.

Continuing his closing address on Thursday, prosecutor Anthony Vella said investigations had continued after the conviction of the murder’s executors, leading to further prosecutions, including those of Fenech and the Maksar brothers.

“The inquiry remained open, and I’m telling you this to show that the prosecution aims to uncover the whole truth,” Vella told the jury.

Fenech is accused of complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder and denies the charges.

Vella argued that the recordings secretly made by self-confessed middleman Melvin Theuma provided the clearest evidence against Fenech.

He said Theuma occupied a crucial position between the person who ordered the murder and the men who carried it out. That position made him indispensable but also placed him in danger, according to the prosecution.

The prosecutor referred to an exchange in which Theuma reassured Fenech that brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat did not know his identity.

Vella argued that an innocent person would have questioned why the three men were being mentioned. Instead, Fenech appeared interested in confirming that his name had not been disclosed.

He also quoted messages in which Fenech and Theuma repeatedly spoke in the plural, using phrases such as “our way”, “for us” and “we’ll get through this”.

“Someone who isn’t involved doesn’t speak in the plural,” Vella argued.

The prosecutor rejected the defence’s portrayal of Theuma as a powerful figure who controlled Fenech. He said the imbalance ran in the opposite direction, recalling Theuma’s testimony that he felt “like a mosquito next to a giant”.

Vella said Theuma had good reason to fear Fenech, pointing to evidence that the accused had attempted to acquire firearms, suppressors, grenades and hundreds of rounds of ammunition through the dark web.

Turning to the defence’s attempt to identify Schembri as an alternative mastermind, Vella said the theory had to be supported by evidence and reconciled with the recordings directly involving Fenech.

He also highlighted Fenech’s failure to request courtroom confrontations with Schembri, Theuma, Adrian Vella or Johann Cremona, despite having repeatedly asked for confrontations during his police interrogation.

Proceedings ended with a legal dispute after the prosecution attempted to quote chats between Theuma and Mario Degiorgio that had not previously been brought to the jury’s attention.

Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca described the material as “documentary hearsay”, arguing that neither participant had authenticated the conversations during the trial.

Judge Edwina Grima reserved her decision on whether the prosecution could use the chats in its closing address, saying she wanted to consider the issue without rushing. The trial is expected to resume on Friday morning.