Two people were killed in High Street, Sliema this morning in what may have been an attempted robbery. Other theories are, however, also being considered.

Sources said the owner of the apartment, 32-year-old Duncan Zammit, and Nicholas Gera, 26, got into a knife fight which left them both dead. Both  had multiple stab wounds.

It is believed the intruder entered the house from the roof and came to face to face with Mr Zammit's wife Claire Xuereb, the managing director of The Palace Hotel in Sliema and daughter of entrepreneur Anglu Xuereb.

The couple have three-month old twins.

From comments being submitted here as well as on Facebook, Mr Zammit was well-loved and respected by the people who knew him.

The police were informed about the incident at around 7.15 a.m. Autopsies on both corpses are to be carried out tomorrow.