Cospicua man, 46, found dead at home

A 46-year-old man from Cospicua was found dead in his apartment on Friday night, a few hours after the lifeless body of a Libyan man was discovered in a car at Gzira.

Police sources said Francis Cutajar was found lying on the floor of his apartment in Sofia Street in Cospicua on Friday night by his brother. A doctor from the health centre certified Cutajar dead shortly afterwards.

An autopsy carried out yesterday morning showed that the man had died due to respiratory problems. Police are also waiting for the results of toxicological tests to confirm whether Cutajar's death was a natural one.

Duty Magistrate Joseph Cassar was informed of the case shortly after the discovery of the body and appointed various experts to assist in the inquiry. The district police and the Criminal Investigations Department are investigating the case.

The police are also investigating the death of the Libyan man who was found lying in his car in front of Taormina Hotel in Ponsonby Street, Gzira.

The man, 41-year-old Salem Abdusallam, who works with the Libyan Embassy, was found dead in a Fiat car at about 6.30 p.m. on Friday. The man was residing in Gzira and had an official work permit.

An autopsy carried out yesterday morning showed that the Libyan man's death was caused by respiratory problems, and probably of natural causes, police sources said.

But a number of other tests have to be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of death. No external signs of violence were found on the dead man.

Magistrate Cassar, who is also responsible for the case, requested that the vehicle be kept for further inspections.

The Sliema district police, Inspector Silvio Valletta from the Criminal Investigations Department and Inspector Neil Harrison of the Drug Squad are involved in the investigations into the Libyan's death.