Updated 7.05pm -

Joseph Bonnici, 38 of Għaxaq admitted to the police that he had murdered his mother and sister and took the police to the field where he tried to bury them, a court was told on Sunday evening.

Police Inspector John Spiteri said Bonnici admitted to the killing during interrogation.

His admission came after police inspectors noticed that he had up to that time given conflicting answers to their questions. He eventually took them to the site near Gudja where the two had been buried.

Inspector Spiteri was speaking during Mr Bonnici's arraignment, the day after the two bodies were found in a field.

Bonnici wore a hoodie to cover his face as he was driven into the courthouse from Strait Street.

He was accused of murder, possession of an unlicensed weapon, firing the weapon, filing a false report, hiding cadavers and other charges including manufacturing a weapon with a silencer.

He pleaded not guilty. Magistrate Rachel Montebello remanded him in custody.  

Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri were defence counsel.

Mr Bonnici was arrested early on Saturday after the bodies of the two women were found partly buried in a field.

READ: Double murder suspect seemed like a 'good man', neighbours say

The victims - Marie-Lourdes Bonnici, 70, and her daughter Angele, 29.

Marie-Lourdes Bonnici, 70, and her daughter Angele, 29, are believed to have been shot in their home in Għaxaq and then taken to the field.

The motive is unknown.

The two had been reported missing by the police on Wednesday, having last been seen on Tuesday. 

Officers were tipped off by a family member about where the bodies might be and the grim discoveries were made early on Saturday.

The suspect's father, Paul Bonnici, is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence after having been convicted of the double-murder of his neighbours 19 years ago.

The neighbours would regularly argue and things came to a head in May 2000, when Mr Bonnici shot Joseph and Carmela Dalli outside their home. He then reloaded the gun and shot the two at point-blank range in the head, the court was told during his trial.

READ: Man jailed for 31 years over double murder