German man appears in court over wheelie-bin murder

A German man appeared in a UK court yesterday charged with the murder of his former wife after her badly decomposed remains were found dumped inside a wheelie bin outside the home he shared with a Maltese woman in Surrey.

During a 10-minute hearing at Woking Magistrates' Court, Peter Wallner, 33, spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth. The unemployed chef has also been charged with preventing his ex-wife's lawful and decent burial.

He was remanded in custody and will be sent to the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, in London, for a preliminary hearing on June 30.

Neighbours found Mrs Wallner's body on June 6 after seeing her foot poking out of the top of the bin in Cobham, Surrey. A post-mortem examination found she had suffered severe head injury but could not confirm the cause of death.

Mr Wallner, who had been in Malta for about three weeks with his new wife Lilia Fenech, voluntarily flew to the UK last Wednesday evening when he found out Surrey police were looking for him. He was arrested as soon as he landed at Gatwick Airport.

Melanie Wallner's family were under the impression that she died from natural causes in September 2006 and were shocked to find out that her body was dumped in Surrey.

The family said in a statement: "Melanie was a much loved daughter and sister and her loss has left a big hole in our lives.

"We were informed that Melanie had died of natural causes in September 2006. Since then we have tried to come to terms with our loss. These new developments came as a big shock to us."

Ms Fenech had categorically denied she or her husband had anything to do with the murder. After the police announced that her husband had been charged with the murder, she refused to comment.

The couple had packed their belongings in a white rental Volkswagen van and drove across the English Channel to Malta. Surrey police had appealed for information about the couple and their van, which was tracked down in San Ġwann last Tuesday.

The van is still parked there and while Surrey police are making arrangements to have it returned to the rental company, a spokesman said it was not central to the investigation. In fact, it was not examined by forensic experts.