A foreigner accused of murdering his wife told investigators she fell into an elevator shaft after running up a flight of steps.

Sergii Nykytiuk, 37, is charged with the murder of his wife Liudmyla, 35, who was found dead in the shaft early last month in Ramon Perellos Street, St Paul's Bay.

Police Inspector Keith Arnaud, heading the prosecution together with Inspector Chris Pullicino, testified yesterday before Magistrate Saviour Demicoli that the accused told them his wife did not see the entrance to the shaft, which was only barred by a low wooden plank, because it was too dark. Mr Nykytiuk told the police he had not seen her until late in the evening, when she knocked on the door to their apartment because she did not have a key. His wife demanded he let her in so she could collect her clothes and move out but he refused.

Mr Nykytiuk also told the police the victim pushed him and then ran up the stairs to the third floor of the block of apartments still under construction.

He said that after running upstairs, his wife had tried to give herself a boost by pushing herself off the wall. It was at that point that she fell into the shaft.

Mr Nykytiuk said he heard her whimpering at the bottom of the shaft but went back to his apartment, where he drank and smoked. Early the next morning, he asked his room-mate, Roman Kovacuk, for money to buy more alcohol from a bar nearby. When he returned, he told his friend he had heard his wife sobbing in the shaft and they went to the floor above to have a look.

When they saw her, he said they ran to a couple who lived in the same block of apartments, one of whom testified last month, and asked for a screwdriver in order to remove the hoarding covering the entrance to the shaft on the ground floor. However, Mr Nykytiuk said they could not find one and he broke open the wooden sheets. He then rushed outdoors to seek the assistance of a man who happened to be opening the diving shop next door.

Mr Arnaud pointed out that this was not the first statement Mr Nykytiuk gave. In fact, the accused had at first denied having any marital problems and insisted he only argued with his wife when she slept over at friends after babysitting their children. However, when confronted with evidence, he made a second statement.

The prosecuting officer said that when he went to the scene of the crime he found Ms Nykytiuk with her jeans down to her knees and noticed that she had facial injuries.

He also noted signs of a commotion in the kitchen, where he found broken glass on the floor, and in the bathroom, where a broken soap holder lay in the bath.

Vitali Pidkypnyi testified that he had an affair with Ms Nykytiuk, adding that, two days before her death, he had noticed that her right eye was red and swollen and her lips were bleeding.

That night, during a party at the Nykytiuks' apartment, Mr Pidkypnyi was confronted by the accused who charged him with having a relationship with his wife. Mr Pidkypnyi said the last time he saw the victim alive was the following morning at a bar, after they had spent the night together at a hotel.

The case continues.