Peter Wallner charged with wife's murder

Peter Wallner, the German husband of Maltese Lilia Fenech, has been charged with the murder of his former wife Melanie after her badly decomposed remains were found dumped inside a wheelie bin in Surrey.

Mr Wallner, 33, was also charged with preventing Mrs Wallner's lawful and decent burial.

Mr Wallner, who is to appear at Woking Magistrates' Court tomorrow morning, voluntarily flew to the UK when he heard that the Surrey police were looking for him. He was arrested the minute he landed at Gatwick Airport, soon after 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

The British police had launched a manhunt for Mr Wallner and Mrs Fenech, 23, after they found the badly-decomposed body of a woman in the bin outside their former residence in Hamilton Avenue, Cobham, on Saturday. The body was identified as Mrs Wallner's yesterday.

Ms Fenech and her father, Martin, denied that she or Mr Wallner were involved in the murder.

Mr Wallner and Ms Fenech left Cobham three weeks ago and drove across the English Channel to Malta. The Surrey police had appealed for information about the couple and their van, which was tracked down in San Ġwann on Tuesday evening.

British police said they did not know when Mrs Wallner died and appealed for information.