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Suspect arraigned in UK over murder of elderly Maltese woman

In the British police’s bid to make heads or tails of the brutal, apparently senseless slaying of 82 year old Maltese-born Violetta Vella at her council flat in North London, 33-year-old Rodney Anyanwu has been remanded in custody and will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Detectives also questioned a second man in connection with Mrs Vella's death, but was later released on bail pending further inquiries.

Police and relatives of the murdered woman are still appealing for witnesses and information, in particular about a group of youths seen acting suspiciously in the area on the afternoon of the attack.

Mrs Vella, who walked with crutches due to arthritis, had lived on the council estate where she was found butchered on 18 February for more than 30 years and had brought up her four children alone after her husband died 43 years ago.

Detectives said it appeared Mrs Vella had put up a fight, during which she had been stabbed several times in what police described as "a particularly nasty and vicious attack on a vulnerable member of the community."

A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Vella died from a stab wound to the neck that severed her spinal nerve.