Updated 11.20am
The badly-decomposed corpse of a woman was found in a residence in St Paul's Bay by the police on Monday evening.
Sources said the body was that of a 69-year-old Briton resident in Malta.
Police called at her apartment in Triq San Luqa after a relative contacted the British High Commission to say that he had been trying to speak to her without success for months. The High Commission alerted the police.
According to unconfirmed reports, the woman was found on her bed, with her widower keeping the body at home because he did not want to be parted from her.
She is believed to have died in November.
TVM said the widower is being questioned by the police.
A police spokesman said that a preliminary investigation was still in progress, but that so far there was no suspicion of foul play. An autopsy will be held on Tuesday to determine the cause of death.