Murderer was waiting for Swieqi businessman to come home, evidence suggests

A careful examination of CCTV footage from David Abela’s residence is leading investigators to believe that the murderer was home waiting for the victim to return from a night out.

Although sources had initially told MaltaToday that nothing suspicious had been noticed from a preliminary screening of the footage, a more careful examination shows a person breaking into the Swieqi residence, in Triq il-Gizi.

The Times of Malta has reported that the suspect’s face was not covered. However, the grainy footage is making it harder for investigators to identify the suspect. The police had initially said that no sign of forced entry was noticed, leading them to believe that Abela knew his killer.

The police have excluded that the murder was linked to his business or that Abela may have been killed because his house was being burgled.

In this photo uploaded last summer on her Facebook profile, Irina and David pose for a selfie

It was Abela’s partner, Irina Alexandrovna Micallef, who found the 51-year-old man dead in his bedroom. Alexandrovna Micallef had just returned from Dubai, and arrived home at around 5pm to the chilling scene.

The relationship between the two had degenerated, sources said, and the two had filed police reports against each other. Since the murder, the woman has been spoken to multiple times by the police.

Adding to the mystery is how Abela got home in the early hours of Monday morning. His BMW was found parked in Pembroke, close to the reverse osmosis plant.

The police have also spoken to Abela’s colleagues, relatives and friends.