Mother accused of her daughter's murder

Updated 8.20 p.m. - The mother of 28-year-old Russian Yulia Kalinina, who was found dead in Xemxija yesterday, was this evening accused of her murder. Tamara Gennadievan Boubekova, 58, pleaded not guilty.

Police Inspector Chris Pullicino said that the accused has bruising on her body.

No request for bail was made but a request was made for a number of personal items including a change of clothes. The prosecution did not object but said that the scene of crime needed to be preserved.

This is believed to be the first time that a mother has been accused in Malta with the murder of her daughter, although a mother was accused, and convicted, of the murder of her young son in 1960 in the celebrated Ta' Ġiġa case.

The body was discovered by neighbours nearly two days after having been suffocated.

Yesterday afternoon the police said the mother was not being considered a suspect but “a person of interest to the police investigations”. Later, however, police sources said she had been held for questioning and was still in custody.

Assistant Commissioner Pierre Calleja told a crime conference yesterday that the apartment where the Russian woman was found dead was “disturbed”, with broken glass and other items strewn on the floor. These, he said, were signs that a struggle had taken place and an indication there had been some kind of argument.

The victim, who had a young child, was wearing clothes she would normally wear at home. She was found lying on the floor close to the sofa. She had injuries to her legs and arms but they were old and were probably not related to the struggle with her assailant, he said.

An autopsy revealed that Ms Kalinina had been suffocated by someone who covered her mouth and nose. It has not yet been established whether a cushion or some other item was used.

Ms Kalinina has been living in Malta for several years but spent the last couple of years in the UK before returning to Malta. Last September she filed an application with the immigration authorities to be given a permit to live here.

It was not specified whether the mother was there when the neighbours discovered the corpse but Mr Calleja said she was in the apartment when the police arrived some time later.