The man wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Bulgarian woman in Qawra last week, was caught on camera catching a flight to Turkey four days after the crime is thought to have occurred, police sources said.

The suspect, a Turkish national, is wanted for questioning over the murder of 38-year-old Irena Abadzhieva, who was found with 40 stab wounds in an apartment on Saturday.

Ms Abadzhieva's mutilated body was discovered after neighbours and the flat owner informed the police of a foul smell emanating from the apartment in Tourists Street. At about 1 p. m., the owner opened the door of the apartment to let the police in and they found Ms Abadzhieva's badly decomposed body wrapped in bed linen and lying on a couch.

The sources said her body, which was in nightclothes, was wrapped in sheets with two electric fans switched on and placed close to the sofa.

A post-mortem examination yesterday revealed about 40 stab wounds that covered almost every inch of the body, the sources said.

The police said the autopsy confirmed Ms Abadzhieva had died of stab wounds, noting " the results were provisional because further tests need to be done".

In a press conference hours after the body's discovery, Assistant Police Commissioner Pierre Calleja said investigators were looking for a man who, they believed, shared the apartment with the victim. He refused to reveal the man's nationality and said he could not rule out that the man had already left the country.

Sources close to the investigation said the police had footage taken from security cameras at Malta International Airport showing the suspect catching a flight to Turkey on Thursday.

The sources said the security cameras also revealed that the man, who is believed to have worked in a catering establishment in Malta, tried to get a flight to Turkey on Monday but did not manage to buy a ticket.

Ms Abadzhieva was last seen alive on May 29 at about 5 p. m., one day before the man's failed attempt to buy an airline ticket.

She worked as a cleaner in an establishment at St Julians and had rented the Qawra flat last November.

There were no signs of a forced entry in the flat or any evidence that a struggle took place and the murder weapon, which was described as "a sharp and pointed instrument", has not yet been found.