The third man suspected of involvement in the murder of a Sliema couple last month is contesting his extradition to Malta from Spain, prolonging the process to bring him to justice.

Proceedings in Spain, excluding any appeals, are now expected to last at least 30 days, sources close to the investigation said.

The man, Danish iGaming employee Jesper Kristiansen, is wanted over the murders of Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski, who were shot dead inside their Sliema house on August 18.

Two men, Albanian national Daniel Muka, 25, and Macedonian Viktor Dragomanski, 35, have been charged over their alleged involvement in the crime, pleading not guilty.

Questions have arisen over how Kristiansen, who had been working in Malta for several months, managed to get away.

Police sources on Saturday said he changed his appearance to get through airport security 10 days after the murder, on August 28. He caught a flight to Barcelona using his identity card to travel. Since he was flying to a Schengen country, no passport checks were carried out.

The sources said that until he escaped, the Maltese police did not yet have a confirmed name. All they had were stills taken from CCTV footage of residences and businesses near the house. Those images were also grainy and not easy to make out.

He changed his appearance to get through airport security

The day he absconded, police officers were touring Sliema businesses with the image, asking people if they had seen him. 

The police then started working with their foreign counterparts and Interpol.

Two days later, on August 30, Spanish police managed to track Kristiansen down and arrest him at a hotel in the seaside town of Cádiz. He is believed to have rented a car to get there.

The Spanish police on Saturday released footage of Kristiansen's arrest.

Police believe that theft was the most likely motive for the murder of the wealthy Sliema couple.

Pandolfino was found in a pool of blood near the front door to the house, wearing just his underpants. He had been shot five times.

His partner Maciejowski, an art collector, was found in the landing of the stairs with one shot to his forehead. The direction of that shot indicates it was fired from the ground floor.

The case against Muka is being heard by magistrate Nadine Lia. Magistrate Joe Mifsud will start hearing the compilation of evidence against Dragomanski on Wednesday.

The police have used CCTV footage and evidence from the getaway car to trace the two suspects.

Muka was arrested in a raid on a Floriana house a week after the murders, wearing a necklace belonging to Pandolfino. Dragomanski was apprehended two days later after a chase in Gżira.

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