Two pairs of gloves stained by the blood of murder victim Eleanor Mangion Walker were found under the passenger seat of a van used by estranged husband Andrew Mangion, a court heard this morning.

Prosecuting officer Inspector Keith Arnaud testified as part of the compilation of evidence against Mr Mangion, who is accused of murdering Ms Mangion Walker at his Swieqi garage and then dumping the body at a Qormi warehouse.

The gloves, the inspector said, also contained traces of male DNA which did not belong to the accused.

A mobile phone belonging to the victim was also found under the driver’s seat. Also inside the white Hyundai van was a small-calibre bullet, found on the driver’s side of the car.  

Forensic experts also found substance suspected to be cannabis inside the Swieqi garage, along with a number of other empty sachets which according to the inspector were normally used to traffic drugs.

The court heard how the relationship between the murder victim and her husband had taken a turn for the better in recent years, despite the pair fighting for years.

Beverly Walker, the victim’s younger sister, told the court that years ago, her sister and Mr Mangion would have “really big arguments” but Ms Mangion Walker would rarely talk about this with her family.

However, it seemed as though in the past two years, their relationship had improved.

Ms Walker said that she last saw her sister on the Tuesday before she was found dead in the warehouse, and had last spoken to her via text messages a few days later on Friday.

She recalled that on the day before her sister’s body was found at the warehouse, she met the accused outside their flat. The building is owned by the Walker family and Mr Mangion lived in one of the flats with Ms Mangion Walker and their nine-year-old daughter.

The victim’s sister recounted that unlike previous occasions when she had met Mr Mangion outside the flats, the accused did not offer to help her and her mother carry the grocery bags inside.

While this was unusual, Ms Walker said she did not think twice about this and dismissed it, thinking Mr Mangion was having a bad day. Ms Walker insisted that her conversations with the accused were often brief, with just the occasional hello and bye.

When prodded by prosecuting inspector Keith Arnaud about the relationship between the accused and the victim, Ms Walker said that some four years ago, Mr Mangion had accused his wife of cheating on him, adding that he had confronted her and asked her for her sister’s e-mail password, which she gave him.

Some two years ago, she went on, her sister had also told her about her concerns that Mr Mangion had been dealing drugs. While she had never seen any drug-related activity at her sister’s flat, one of her brothers had pointed out that there had on occasion been people coming and going.

After Ms Mangion Walker approached the police about this, Ms Walker said, investigations did not result in Mr Mangion being involved in any such activity. Ms Mangion Walker then confronted her husband about this who insisted the drug dealing had stopped.

The victim had also complained to her sister and her mother that Mr Mangion would often get very angry at their daughter for little things and would even smack the girl. 

Investigators believe that Eleanor Mangion Walker, 33, was likely killed inside one of these garages in Swieqi.

Among the witnesses taking the stand today were Mr Mangion’s neighbours Anna Maria and Leslie Bajada.  

Ms Bajada said that a week before Ms Mangion Walker’s body was found, she and her husband invited the accused to go on a boat trip with them to thank him for odd jobs he had helped them with.

Mr Mangion had accepted the invitation and said he would be asking Ms Mangion Walker whether he could take their daughter with him, since the nine-year-old was supposed to spend the day with her mother.

On Wednesday, Ms Bajada once again asked Mr Mangion whether he would be going with them on the boat trip and this time round he pointed out that he might not be able to make it as he had to transport some pallets from his warehouse in Qormi.

The day before the trip, on Saturday, Mr Mangion took his daughter to his neighbours’ house at around 7.30pm and picked her up some time later. Prodded about Mr Mangion’s behaviour that night, Ms Bajada said that he was acting normal, dropping off his daughter and then picking her up just as he often did.

The next day, Mr Mangion dropped his daughter off to play with her friend at around 9.30am and when the family told him they were going ahead with the boat trip, he left to get her daughter’s bathing suit, returning to drop this off some time later. 

At around 1.30pm the family, along with Mr Mangion’s daughter headed to Salina, where the boat is docked. While on the boat, Ms Bajada said she sent the accused messages and photos to show him what his daughter had been up to.

They then returned home later that day and Mr Mangion picked up his daughter at around 8.15pm and according to Ms Bajada, he was smartly dressed in a polo shirt and trousers and told them that he would be heading out to his field.  

The compilation of evidence continues on September 26.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke presided over the case. Inspectors Kylie Borg and Keith Arnaud are leading the prosecution with lawyers Michael and Lucio Sciriha appearing as parte civile for the deceased’s successors. The accused’s defence counsel is led by Joe Giglio.