Both of us are clean, Maltese woman says

The Maltese woman wanted for questioning by the British police over a murder in Surrey has denied she or her husband had anything to do with it.

"We're not involved in any way in this," 23-year-old Lilia Fenech said yesterday. "My husband (Peter Wallner) went to the UK yesterday to speak to the police."

The British police wanted to speak to the couple after the badly-decomposed body of a woman was found in a wheelie bin outside their former residence in Hamilton Avenue, Cobham, on Saturday.

Ms Fenech's father, Martin, insisted yesterday the bins were only filled with paper and carton boxes because the couple was moving to Malta after having sold the property.

The couple packed the belongings in a white rental Volkswagen van and drove across the English Channel onto Malta. The Surrey police had issued a call for information about the couple and their van, which was found in San Ġwann on Tuesday evening.

The Surrey police had said the two could provide useful information in connection with the murder of the unidentified victim, believed to be in her 30s.

An autopsy established that the woman had suffered a serious head injury but the exact cause of death could not be determined. The police are still trying to determine her identity, which is difficult because of the state of the body.

Ms Fenech is insisting that neither she nor her husband were involved in any way in the murder. "When we contacted the Surrey police they said they wanted to speak to my husband and he left for the UK."

In fact, the Surrey police issued a statement yesterday saying Mr Wallner, 33, contacted them on Tuesday and "is making arrangements to voluntarily return to the UK as soon as possible".

They said he was staying in Malta when "he became aware that the police wanted to speak to him."

"We appreciate the assistance of the media and the public in helping us locate Mr Wallner. He has now made contact with us and is keen to return to the UK to help us in our investigation," Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Maria Woodall said.

Mr Fenech said his daughter and son-in-law had no connection with the murder.

Mr Fenech said his daughter had travelled to England about two years ago to work in a hotel as part of her training to become a chef. It was there she met Mr Wallner and the two got married about six months ago.

It was only recently that the couple decided to come to Malta. "She was homesick and wanted to come back home. I went there three weeks ago to help them pack," Mr Fenech said.

The van was used to carry their furniture and they were waiting for the rental company to send someone to pick it up, he said, referring to the rental van. He said that before his daughter and Mr Wallner left their UK home they filled their wheelie bin with paper and boxes and pushed it onto the street to be emptied.

"It's not true that they are involved in any way in the murder. They weren't even there when the murder took place," he said.

The police have not yet established when the murder took place.

Mr Fenech insisted the bins only had paper in them when they left.

"They did not flee but left quietly and the police wanted to speak to them simply because they were the last people out of the house," he said.

Mr Fenech could not explain why the body was dumped in that particular wheelie bin. "Perhaps it was a vindictive act or someone saw them leave the house. Who knows?"

Although the neighbourhood they lived in was very quiet, there was a recent spate of vandalism and one day all the residents woke up to find their car tyres slashed, he said.