[WATCH] Autopsy on woman's body inconclusive, Police not ruling out foul play

Crime conference by assistant commissioner Silvio Valletta and senior inspector Dennis Theuma

An autopsy carried out on the body of a woman found in a valley in Gozo has failed to establish her cause of death and further tests are necessary, assistant police commissioner Silvio Valletta said this evening.

Although it is believed that the body is that of an elderly Danish woman, DNA tests will be carried out to ascertain the woman’s identity.

Addressing a crime conference called this evening, Valletta said that the woman’s head and rib injuries were compatible with both blunt force trauma and a fall, and further tests were required to establish the time and cause of death.

Due to pending DNA test results, the police would not confirm the woman's identity, identified as Vera Holm by the state media.

The 71-year-old woman had been missing for three days before her body was found in Wied il-Kapuccini, limits of Victoria, on Sunday. On holiday with her son-in-law, her grandchildren and her son-in-law's brother, the woman was reported missing last Friday at around 6.30pm.

The son-in-law, who reported her missing to the police, said that she had gone shopping on her own and didn't return.

The police report was filed three hours after she left the group.

The investigation will also seek to establish how the woman ended up in the valley, some 3km away from Marsalforn.

Valletta and officer in charge Dennis Theuma confirmed that they were treating the case as "suspicious": the corpse was naked and none of her belongings were found in the vicinity. Her handbag, which contained some €300 in cash, passport and smartphone, was not found. 

Theuma also said that establishing the time of death will be trickier than usual as the summer heat, and the environment in which she was found in, accelerate decomposition.

Her daughter, who did not join her relatives on the holiday, arrived yesterday in Malta after hearing of her mother’s disappearance. Sources told MaltaToday that the daughter and her husband are “still married and on good terms but are undergoing legal proceedings”.

The group were staying at a rental accommodation in Marsalforn and had been in Gozo since 19 July. They were meant to leave Malta yesterday. The police also said that the family members "did not ask" to leave the island.

It was the victim’s first holiday in Gozo.

As soon as the report was filed, a search including the Civil Protection Department and the Armed Forces of Malta was launched. Valletta confirmed that a person walking a dog at the valley yesterday spotted the woman’s cadaver.

Asked whether the woman suffered from any physical or mental problems, the police confirmed that the woman had been in good health and mental condition.