Murder suspect had recently rented apartment close to where his ex's body was found

The compilation of evidence against a Dutch man accused of murdering his former girlfriend, continued today where it was revealed that he had rented an apartment in Santa Venera just 15 days before her body was found nearby. 

Jelle Rijpma, 22, is being accused of killing his former girlfriend and colleague, Shannon Mak, whose corpse was found in August in Triq il-Mastrudaxxi, her neck slit. 

The gruesome murder led the Police to Rijpma, her ex-boyfriend who a witness said had rented an apartment on Triq l-Istampaturi, just metres away from the crime scene.

The witness was the landlady who said the Dutchman had been living in her flatlet for a few days. "He was recommended to me by a colleague of his. He came to me. He was there for less than 15 days."

The landlady was questioned by prosecuting inspector Kurt Zahra about whether the murder suspect had approached her towards the end of July regarding the flat. "It was the third or fourth week of July. We had a sort of preliminary agreement," she replied, adding that she still had a copy of the agreement which she would willingly present in court.

Rijpma and Mak both worked at a local gaming company. During Friday’s sitting, a Human Resources manager at the same company was also summoned by the prosecution to confirm that both the accused and his former girlfriend had been employed by the company.

At the start of the court hearing, the court delivered a decree authorising the transfer of a piece of glass that allegedly contained traces of blood to a laboratory for DNA testing. 

CID Inspector Fabian Fleri, who had testified in October about the identification process of the victim and the ultimate arrest of her alleged murderer, was asked to repeat his deposition on account of a technical hitch in the court’s recording system during the earlier sitting.

Inspector Kurt Zahra prosecuted. Lawyer Leontine Calleja was defence counsel. Lawyer Stefano Filletti appeared parte civile.

The case continues next month.

READ MORE: Ex-boyfriend spontaneously confessed to murdering Shannon Mak, court told