Five held in connection with Russian woman's murder

Five men, four Maltese and a foreigner, are helping the police in their investigations into the death of a Russian woman, found in the sea off the Chalet in Sliema, with a plastic bag covering her head, on Thursday.

Sources said the woman had been strangled shortly before her body was thrown into the sea.

The police have managed to piece together a good deal of information about the case and have also got to know more about the woman, but were keeping their cards close to their chest.

The Russian Embassy in Malta has been informed about her death so that her relatives would be informed. The woman appears to have been to Malta on more than one occasion.

The police were initially groping in the dark about the case as the woman's identity remained a mystery for several hours after her discovery, but sources said they had made up for lost time and had amassed a considerable amount of information.

"Trying to solve a murder without knowing the victim's identity is a big handicap. With that big hurdle over, the police move on," sources told The Sunday Times.

The persons who dumped the woman's lifeless body into the sea wanted to make things as difficult as possible, but passers-by noticed the body early on Thursday morning and alerted the police.

The police have traced the apartment where the woman was living lately and searches for clues have been made in a number of places. It appears the woman was killed at around 6 a.m on Thursday.

The police said the woman's hands and legs were not bound when she was found and she was barefoot. It is now also certain that the woman had been strangled and it is not known why a black garbage bag was placed over her head. It could be that the person who killed her did not bear to see his victim any more.

Further tests are expected to be made on the woman's body this week.

Assistant Commissioner Emanuel Cassar, Inspectors Christopher Pullicino, John Ellul and Daniel Zammit are conducting investigations. Clinical forensic physician Mario Scerri has been appointed by the court to assist in the inquiry.

Anyone who might have any information about the case is asked to phone the police in confidence on 2122-1111.