A 36-year-old woman was found murdered in a residence in St Paul’s Bay this morning, the police said. 

The woman is a Maltese national, identified as Silvana Muscat.

Addressing a crime conference this evening, assistant police commissioner Pierre Calleja said the woman appeared to have been stabbed at least five times in her upper body. A formal autopsy is yet to take place. 

Mr Calleja said the woman was found in her bed covered by a duvet. 

A "person of interest" fled to Italy last night. His car was found at the airport. Mr Calleja did not specify the person's relationship with the victim. 

The victim had filed three police reports related to domestic violence in the past. 

The woman was found in a pool of blood in a home in Sponoz Street, and she was certified dead on site. The grim discovery was made by a friend who went to her house after the woman did not turn up at work and was not answering her phone. 

It is understood that the victim was warned by relatives not to return home to her boyfriend, who is believed to be a Libyan national, after the victim spent one month and the half living with her sister, in what seems to be a case of domestic violence. It is believed that the courts had issued a restraining order against the man. 

Another Libyan national is being held in connection with the case. 

A number of distraught relatives of the victim were on the scene of the crime this morning. Forensics officers combed through the apartment in search for clues and it is being reported that the knife used by the killer has been found on the roof. Forensic Pathologist Mario Scerri and CID Inspector Keith Arnaud were among the officers on scene.

The investigations are ongoing.

Photos: Jonathan Borg