A woman has been stabbed to death in her apartment in Birkirkara and police shot dead the suspect, her ex partner, after he pointed a replica gun at officers in St Julian's. 

The victim was identified as Nicolette Ghirxi, 48, and the suspect was a man from Ireland called Edward William Johnston, 50, who had been harassing her for months after their almost two-year relationship broke down.

Police found the body of the woman in her apartment in Triq Maestro Giuseppe Busuttil in Swatar, Birkirkara at about 2am. Two knives were found nearby.

Around an hour later, the suspect, an Irish man, was shot three times by police in St Julian's on the rocks along the shoreline behind the Hilton Hotel, after he pointed a weapon at them, which turned out to be a replica gun, police said. 

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Police were first alerted at around midnight when they received a report of a man in St Julian's wielding a gun and saying he had murdered someone. 

Police commissioner Angelo Gafa told a news conference on Monday that the suspect had told police he had murdered a woman. 

Officers then went to her place in Birkirkara, forced entry and found her dead. She had suffered upper body knife injuries and two knives were discovered near her.  

The commissioner said there were three hours of negotiations with Johnston in St Julian’s.

Suspect shot after pointing replica gun

The man went into the sea and then came on to the rocks.

He pointed a pistol at his head and then turned it at the police and as he appeared to be attempting to assault a constable, police fired shots at him because this was deemed to be a life-threatening situation, Gafa said.

The shooting took place around 3am "in pitch darkness" and Johnston died shortly afterwards in hospital, the police chief said.

It later resulted that the revolver the man was holding was a replica of a Beretta pistol.

Gafa confirmed Johnston had earlier threatened staff at the Hilton hotel. It is understood he went there at midnight and asked for a drink but pulled out a gun when he was told the bar was closed.

Police were called after receiving reports that a man wielding a gun was saying he had just murdered someone. 

"The employees and police both thought it was a real weapon," he said. "It was pitch darkness and even in daylight it would have been difficult to determine if it was real until it was opened."

Reports of harassment

Gafa confirmed the man and woman had been in a relationship, which had broken down. 

There were no previous reports of violence between the two but in April, Ghirxi filed two harassment reports against Johnston after receiving some emails from him when they broke up.

However she decided against carrying out a risk assessment, telling police and social welfare officials from Aġenzija Appoġġ that she did not believe she was at risk, according to senior police sources.  

She filed another report of harassment in May, again linked to emails.

At the time, police established that Johnston was abroad, Gafa said, describing the emails as being harassment but not of a threatening nature. 

In July the victim informed police about a number of slanderous social media posts about her and she suspected Johnston, who was abroad at the time. Last Thursday at 9pm she informed police by email that Johnston might be in Malta.

"The victim herself told us she did not feel threatened and messages we saw also indicated as much," Gafa told the crime conference. 

Magisterial inquiries are under way and the police are holding their own inquiry into the use of firearms. 

The suspect is believed to have been an ex-soldier.  However the Irish Defence Forces has said it has no record of anyone matching Mr Johnston’s details serving in the organisation and directed further queries to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Home Affairs minister says police 'were forced' to shoot

In a statement, home affairs minister Byron Camilleri offered his condolences to the family.

"Police work is never easy and a difficult night like the one that passed is certainly not what anyone would like," he said.

"First the murder in Birkirkara, then the search for the aggressor, in difficult circumstances and they were forced to shoot and the alleged aggressor was killed."

There were no signs of a break-in at the residence, located in a relatively new development block, which is still being finished. 

 

Forensic experts were at the scene on Monday morning and the road was closed off. Neighbours who spoke to Times of Malta said they did not hear anything out of the ordinary overnight. 

Police had also cordoned off the area behind the Hilton Hotel, where the suspect was shot dead. 

The duty magistrate visited both scenes. 

A spokesperson for the Irish Embassy told Times of Malta it is "aware of the incident".