Gozo has one of the highest murder rates in the Maltese islands, given its population, crime historian Eddie Attard told The Malta Independent.

Eight murders were committed in the last 20 years, with a concentration of five murders between 2001 and 2004. Although this rate has since subsided, the per capita murders in Gozo is high when compared to other localities.

Mr Attard was asked for his comments after the gruesome discovery of a dead elderly woman in the limits of Victoria on Sunday. But, according to Mr Attard, this death is still considered as “suspicious” and has not yet been declared a murder.

Valletta has the highest rate of murders, mostly because of its port, while Mdina is the only locality where no murders have been committed.

Going back 18 years, one of the still unsolved murders in Gozo is that of Louis Galea, who was shot to death and found in a well on 9 January 1997.

Jane Vella was killed when she was thrown off the cliffs in Sannat on 4 December 1999. Her husband Ronnie Vella was jailed for 30 years for her murder in a conviction that made history as the first guilty verdict for wilful homicide when the victim was still missing.

Warden Fortunata Spiteri was stabbed to death in Gharb on 10 August 2001 in a murder that had shaken the island for its audacity. The murder was motivated by excess fines issued by the victim.

Anthony Axiaq was shot to death on 20 January 2002, with his son Raphael Axiak later cleared of his father's murder on the grounds that he had acted in self-defence.

The murder of Maria Attard on 19 February 2004, who was found lifeless in a well in Xaghra, is still unsolved.

Another murder that had shocked Gozo was that of top lawyer Michael Grech, who was shot in the head after he was ambushed and beaten as he was entering a building in Marsalforn on 25 May 2004. David Zerafa, a 39-year-old from Nadur, was later found guilty of the murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Earlier that year, on 24 February, Elizabeth Cauchi had been strangled to death during a robbery in Xewkija.

It then took another eight years for Gozo to experience a murder - John Spiteri, 53, was run over by a 4x4 vehicle and dragged along the road for a few metres at Qbajjar, near Marsalforn.