The man charged with killing his Ukrainian wife had accused her of cheating on him, called her a prostitute and once punched her in the face during a fight, a court heard yesterday.

The woman had tried to leave him and was indeed having a relationship with another man, according to witnesses.

Details of the tempestuous relationship emerged as the compilation of evidence got under way against Sergii Nykytiuk, 37, also Ukrainian, who is accused of murdering Liudmyla Nykytiuk, 35.

She was found dead in an empty elevator shaft in Ramon Perellos Street, St Paul's Bay last Wednesday.

A friend of the victim, Anna Pavlova, who has been living in Malta for the last six years, took the witness stand. She said she had come to Malta with a friend, Romano Kovacuk, and they lived with Mrs Nykytiuk until they found an apartment in the same block.

A short time later the victim's husband arrived and moved into the apartment with his wife.

Mr Kovacuk moved in with the couple.

Ms Pavlova said that her first impression of Mr Nykytiuk was that he was easy going and liked to joke. She then found out that the couple would fight a lot and he was jealous of her. He would constantly ask her if she was in love with someone else and if she had had an intimate relationship with someone while he was gone.

A few days before the alleged murder, Mrs Nykytiuk confided in her that her husband used to hit her, however, Ms Pavlova never noticed any marks compatible with blows on her face.

On the same day they had this conversation, a friend of her daughter, Oleksii, was there.

Taking the witness stand, Oleksii said he had spent some time dating Tatiana, Ms Pavlova's daughter. On that day the accused had knocked on the door looking for his wife.

In the afternoon, when Ms Pavlova returned from work, the victim also came to her apartment and told her that she wanted to leave her husband.

She then went back to her own apartment to pick up her clothes but soon afterwards her husband appeared and asked her to come back to talk. The victim reluctantly accepted.

At around 8 the following morning, Mr Kovacuk and Mr Nykytiuk knocked on the door asking for a screwdriver. The victim, they said, had fallen down the shaft.

The witness said that he did not give them the screwdriver but went and looked down the shaft for himself because he didn't quite believe them. He then saw what looked like the victim at the bottom.

He and Tatiana rushed downstairs to find Mr Kovacuk and Mr Nykytiuk trying to open a wooden door at the bottom of the shaft but he kicked it in and found Mrs Nykytiuk lying face down. He felt her pulse but she was already dead.

At that point, Mr Nykytiuk started crying and asking why she had left him and how he was going to live without her.

Tatiana started screaming and telling Mr Nykytiuk it was all his fault. The witness then took her upstairs because she was hysterical and returned to the shaft to find Mr Nykytiuk still in the same position. He told him to call the police.

Tatiana and her mother later told him that the victim had been having a relationship with a man called Vitali.

Testifying, Mr Kovacuk said he has been living in Malta for the past five months and on the Saturday before the incident had organised a birthday party. But when the man called Vitali arrived, Mr Nykytiuk became aggressive and called the victim a prostitute. Vitali left but the couple continued to argue.

Once, their fight became violent and he punched her in the face, Mr Kovacuk recalled. She said she did not love him anymore and no longer wanted to live with him.

The fight got to the point that he threatened to kill her and throw her in the sea - it went on for ages, he said.

The case continues. Police Inspector Chris Pullicino prosecuted. Legal aid lawyer Renzo Porsella Flores represented the accused.