Prosecuting officers in the case of a man charged with killing a Dutch woman in Santa Venera a week ago will allege he did so because of “jealousy”, sources close to the police said.

The compilation of evidence against Jelle Rijpma, 22, of the Netherlands, is expected to start on Friday in the Magistrate’s Court.

The iGaming employee was arraigned last Saturday, charged with the murder of Shannon Mak, 30, his former girlfriend.

The victim, who also worked in the iGaming industry, was found on the ground between two cars in Triq il-Mastrudaxxi with her throat slashed at about 6.15am by a resident on his way to work.

The sources said the investigations had established that the accused did not have a history of mental health issues.

“This is a very unfortunate case. The evidence compiled so far leaves no room for any doubt,” they added.

Mr Rijpma appeared before Magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace last week.

He was denied bail, though his legal aid lawyer argued that the accused had a stable job in Malta and there was no fear of him absconding.

Police Inspector Kurt Zahra, prosecuting, pointed out, however, that the police would be bringing forward several civilian witnesses to testify, including colleagues of the accused.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.