On 16 October 2017, a few moments after Caruana Galizia left her home in
Bidnija, a
car bomb placed in her leased
Peugeot 108 exploded, killing her instantly. The blast occurred on Triq il-Bidnija (Bidnija Road), and left the vehicle scattered in several pieces across nearby fields. Caruana Galizia was in the driver's seat at the time, when the blast threw the car 80 metres into an adjacent field where her bodily remains were found by her son Matthew. Caruana Galizia's home had not been under police guard since 2010, except during elections. The power to set up a public inquiry into whether the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia could have been prevented rested with the then-Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat. Muscat, however, did not immediately set up a public inquiry, and a formal request by Caruana Galizia's heirs was presented by letter to Malta's prime minister Muscat on 9 August 2018, based on the legal opinion of Doughty Street Chambers and Bhatt Murphy Solicitors.
Reactions , opposite the
Law Courts in
Valletta. Her family criticized the Maltese authorities for doing nothing against a growing "culture of impunity" in Malta, saying that Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Chris Cardona, Konrad Mizzi, Attorney General Peter Grech and a long list of police commissioners who took no action were politically responsible for her death. One of Caruana Galizia's sisters stated that "the President and the Prime Minister are 'downplaying' the assassination and "working to transform her into a martyr for their cause", indicating that calls for national unity were a sham, and that to "call for unity is to abuse her legacy. There should never be unity with the criminal and the corrupt." The car bomb attack was condemned by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who stated that he "will not rest before justice is done" despite her criticism of him. President
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, Archbishop
Charles Scicluna and a number of politicians also expressed their condolences or condemned the car bomb attack. Opposition leader Adrian Delia called her death "the collapse of democracy and freedom of expression" The
President of the European Parliament,
Antonio Tajani, called the incident a "tragic example of a journalist who sacrificed her life to seek out the truth". A plenary session of the
European Parliament was held on 24 October, with
MEPs observing a minute's silence. Several members of Caruana Galizia's family attended the session
at the hemicycle in Strasbourg. The press room at the European Parliament building was renamed in her honour. A debate on freedom of the press and the protection of journalists in Malta also took place. Following this visit and the following debate, a delegation is to be sent by the European Parliament to investigate the rule of law, high-level cases of money laundering, and corruption in Malta.
Pope Francis sent a letter of condolence, saying he was praying for the journalist's family and the
Maltese people. The car bombing was reported in both local and international media. Caruana Galizia's name began trending worldwide on Twitter, and a number of Maltese expressed their mourning by blacking out their Facebook profile pictures. The hashtag #JeSuisDaphne, echoing the term
Je suis Charlie, trended locally. Thousands of people attended a vigil in Caruana Galizia's hometown
Sliema on the night of 16 October. Another vigil was held at the Malta High Commission in London. WikiLeaks founder
Julian Assange announced that he would pay a €20,000 reward "for information leading to the conviction of Caruana Galizia's killers". A
crowdfunding campaign was initiated with the aim of raising €1 million to be given as a reward for information that leads "to the successful prosecution of the assassin and the person or persons who ordered the assassination". This was followed by a further state-sanctioned reward of €1 million. Students, alumni, teachers, parents and members of the
San Anton community held a peaceful vigil from
City Gate to the
Great Siege Monument in
Valletta, in support of the Caruana Galizia family. The three Caruana Galizia siblings were all students of San Anton School. On 22 October 2017, the Civil Society Network organised a protest demanding justice in Valletta. Thousands of protesters demanded justice in the aftermath of the car bomb attack, and called for the immediate resignation of the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General. A number of protesters who took part in the rally also went on to the police headquarters in
Floriana to call for the police commissioner's resignation. After staging a sit-in protest in front of the main door, a banner with a photo of police chief Lawrence Cutajar, accompanied by the words "No change, no justice –
irrizenja (resign)" was placed on the headquarters' gate. On 17 April 2018, a consortium of 45 journalists from 18 news organisations, including
The Guardian,
The New York Times,
Le Monde and the
Times of Malta, published
The Daphne Project, a collaborative effort to complete Caruana Galizia's investigative work. After her death, crowds gathered in front of the
Law Courts, to mourn and express solidarity with the Caruana Galizia family and to demand justice. The Great Siege Monument became a focal point for protests and calls for justice, with tributes, memorials and vigils held there frequently. The choice of this monument as a protest site, though strategically located opposite the law courts, was spontaneous, a follow-up to the flowers which were first placed there by San Anton School pupils. The
GUE/NGL Award for Journalists, Whistleblowers & Defenders of the Right to Information was named in honour of Caruana Galizia in 2018 and again in 2019. It is sponsored by the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left members of which are left-wing members of the European Parliament. The award is "dedicated to individuals or groups who have been intimidated and/or persecuted for uncovering the truth and exposing it to the public". A portrait of her by
Marie Louise Kold now hangs outside the press room. In 2021, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism - an initiative of the Parliament - was created to award outstanding journalistic work reflecting European Union values. The Prize ceremony takes place every year around 16 October, as a symbolic reminder of the date when Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated.
Investigation into the circumstances of the car bomb attack Forensic teams and police investigators arrived at the crime scene soon after the explosion. The head of the magisterial inquiry was initially to be Magistrate
Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who had previously had the police prosecute Caruana Galizia for criminal libel in 2010–11. Caruana Galizia's family successfully challenged Scerri Herrera's role in the investigation, citing a conflict of interest. Scerri Herrera recused herself from the investigation 17 hours later and was replaced by Magistrate Anthony Vella, who was removed from the inquiry when he was appointed judge. Joseph Muscat stated that the
United States Federal Bureau of Investigation was asked to help the police in investigating the car bomb attack. A police forensic investigation team from the Netherlands also arrived to assist. The investigators were also joined by three
Europol officials. The non-Maltese teams provided technical support. On 4 December 2017, Joseph Muscat announced that ten individuals had been arrested in connection with the investigation, three of whom were later charged with executing the car bomb attack. The suspects were identified as George Degiorgio, his brother Alfred Degiorgio, and their friend Vince Muscat (no relation to Joseph Muscat, the former Prime Minister). Prominent Maltese businessman
Yorgen Fenech was arrested on 20 November 2019 in connection with the Caruana Galizia bomb attack. Chief of Staff
Keith Schembri resigned his government post on 26 November 2019, and was subsequently arrested by the police for questioning. He was indicted in 2021, but was granted bail on 24 January 2025, as Maltese law requires for it to be granted to suspects detained for more than 30 months. Numerous
mass protests were held calling for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's resignation, in part over his purported association with Caruana Galizia's murder. Muscat announced on 1 December 2019 that he would resign in relation to
the political crisis, saying that he would remain in office until a new Labour Party leader was elected in January, and formally resign as prime minister a few days after 12 January 2020. On 23 February 2021, Vince Muscat, known as il-Koħħu, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. In his testimony, Muscat claimed that Alfred Degiorgio, who is also charged of executing the car bomb, received information from former Minister
Chris Cardona on Caruana Galizia's whereabouts prior to her assassination, and subsequent tip-offs prior to the December 2017 arrests. Cardona dismissed these allegations as 'pure evil fiction'. An inquiry by former judges "accused the Maltese state of creating a pervasive 'atmosphere of impunity' that allowed her killers to believe they'd face minimal consequences". In July 2022, Alfred Degiorgio's brother, George Degiorgio, speaking from jail, confessed to detonating the car bomb that killed Galizia and noted that he would plead guilty to try to get his and his brother's sentences reduced. In October 2022, during the first day of the trial at Valletta's central court, both George and Alfred Degiorgio dramatically changed their pleas to "guilty" on charges including wilful homicide, causing a fatal explosion, illegally possessing explosives, and criminal conspiracy. They were sentenced to 40-year prison terms, the forfeiture of the proceeds of their crime, and ordered to pay court expenses. On 5 June 2025, following a trial that lasted more than six weeks, a jury convicted Jamie Vella and Robert Agius of supplying the car bomb used in Caruana Galizia's assassination, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Funeral Caruana Galizia's remains were released for burial on 27 October 2017, and a public funeral was held on 3 November 2017 at the
Rotunda of Mosta. Thousands of mourners attended the funeral. The day was observed as a national day of mourning in Malta. The
funeral Mass was conducted by
Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta, who in his
homily told journalists: "[Never] grow weary in your mission to be the eyes, the ears, and the mouth of the people." President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did not attend the funeral, saying that Caruana Galizia's family made it clear that they (Preca and Muscat) were not welcome. The Leader of the Opposition,
Adrian Delia, was "conspicuous by his absence". Among the people at the funeral were several high officials:
Silvio Camilleri,
Chief Justice of Malta;
Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament;
Harlem Désir,
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media;
Eddie Fenech Adami, former
President of Malta and former leader of the
Nationalist Party;
Lawrence Gonzi, former
Prime Minister of Malta and former leader of the Nationalist Party; and
Simon Busuttil, former leader of the Nationalist Party. == Posthumous awards and honours ==