The new boyfriend of the woman shot dead on Saturday afternoon was parked metres away from her in Żebbiegħ when he heard the gunfire and rushed out of his car to find his loved one in a pool of blood.

Christina Sammut, 40, was shot twice in the neck with a shotgun, allegedly by her jealous ex-boyfriend, as she sat in her white Citroen Berlingo van at around 5.30 p.m.

The man being suspected of the murder, Kenneth Gafà, turned himself in to the police later that evening after having followed her up to Mġarr, police sources told The Times.

Ms Sammut, of Rabat, had driven up Temi Zammit Street to meet her new boyfriend. She parked just metres away from him but the two could not see each other.

Police investigators believe that a few moments later, probably as she was preparing to text her partner to let him know she was there, Mr Gafà drove up in a hired van, got out of the car, walked up to the Citroen and shot her twice in the neck, shattering the van’s window.

On hearing the shots, Ms Sammut’s partner ran out to see what had happened – only to find Ms Sammut bleeding in the car.

Ms Sammut, who has a 15-year-old daughter, was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital and died soon afterwards from gunshot wounds.

It is not clear who called for medical assistance as residents came out of their homes on hearing the shots.

Mr Gafà stopped by his home in Marsa and then, accompanied by his brother, turned himself in at the Ħamrun police station, sources said.

The investigators think Mr Gafà was obsessed with Ms Sammut and could not accept the fact that, after ending their one-year relationship, she had a new man. He could not take no for an answer and kept calling her and running after her, wanting to stay in contact, but she was not interested.

The sources said he gave details about the shooting under questioning. The police are still looking for the murder weapon – the shotgun that fired the two fatal shots.

Mr Gafà is expected to be arraigned today.