Three murder suspects spent just four minutes in the Sliema house where two men were shot dead on Tuesday night, police said in a special crime conference on Wednesday.

Christian Pandolfino, 58, and Ivor Maciejowski, 30, were found dead inside the Sliema house where they both lived. There were signs of a disturbance and at least six shots had been fired, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday. 

Police said they had yet to establish a motive for the double murder and were keeping an open mind, with forensic results still pending. 

"We have yet to establish a motive but we are not excluding anything at this stage," the spokesperson said during a crime conference on Wednesday.

CCTV footage from the area showed Pandolfino leaving home at 7pm and returning three hours later, at 10pm. Sources told Times of Malta that he had been out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, while Maciejowski stayed home. 

Camera footage also showed three men, believed to be the murder suspects, enter the house at 10.19pm. They left four minutes later, at 10.23pm, exiting the property and escaping in a white car. The car model and licence plate number have yet to be established.      

Both men's bodies were found by Rapid Intervention Unit officers responding to reports of gunshots at the house. Pandolfino was found dead downstairs, while Maciejowski's body was upstairs.   

Pandolfino and Maciejowski were both art collectors and the men were known to have an extensive art collection inside their house. A police spokesperson said it was too early to say whether anything had been taken from the house. 

Autopsy on Thursday

The spokesperson declined to say whether the suspects were wearing balaclavas or masks and said investigators would be looking closely at the footage in the coming hours. 

Investigators are also combing the house for any hidden cameras that may help shed light on what happened inside. 

An autopsy of both victims, scheduled for Thursday, is expected to establish whether the men had struggled against their assailants. 

The murder weapon has not been found and ballistic experts are examining bullets found at the scene.  

Neither victim had a criminal record and there was no record of either man having filed any reports of threats, the spokesperson said.   

Magistrate Ian Farrugia is leading an inquiry into the case. 

Correction August 19: A previous version stated that the house was found 'turned upside down'. A police spokesperson said that there were signs of a disturbance [instab xi taqlib].