Qormi murder: What we know so far

Eleonora Mangion Walker’s murder sent shockwaves through the community when the 33-year-old mother’s body was found by police in a warehouse in Qormi on Monday, following an anonymous tip-off.

Police have established that she was killed in the night between Saturday and Sunday.

Her body was found resting against a wall in a plastic bag under a number of wooden pallets, police sources have confirmed.

Police investigations indicate that Mangion Walker was not killed at the site where she was found, although the place where the murder occured is still unknown.

The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head.

The last time Mangion Walker was seen alive was on Saturday morning as she was leaving the residence of her partner Rikky Pace. The two were having dinner in Bugibba the night before.

Mangion Walker’s estranged husband, Andrew Mangion, was the police’s prime suspect, having launched a nationwide search for him. Yesterday evening at around 19:00 the police confirmed that 40-year-old Mangion had turned himself in for questioning, joined by his lawyer.

The couple had married in 2009, but their relationship had fallen apart and they were in the middle of separation proceedings, despite still living under the same roof, police sources said.

The police have found traces of fresh blood in Andrew Mangion’s garage in Swieqi. However, investigators believe that Mangion Walker was not killed in this garage. 

Later it was revealed that the person who tipped off the police was Mangion’s close relative who the former had asked for help with disposing the body, admitting to him that he had murdered his wife.

Reports have said that the suspect passed the night in the forensics department of Mount Carmel hospital, where he also received psychological treatment.

It is still unknown if Mangion will be taken to court later on today.