The Danish woman who was found dead after being reported missing in Gozo last month died was strangled, the police said today.

In a statement the police said pathologists have confirmed that the cause of death of Vera Bodil Engelbrecht Holm was “asphyxia by way of strangulation.”

The police were treating the case as a wilful homicide due to the suspicious circumstances the woman was found in. “Investigations into this case are actively in progress and the police are once again appealing anyone who has information on this case to come forward or call on telephone numbers 119 or 2122 4001.” 

The 71-year-old’s naked corpse was found face down floating in a pool of water in Wied il-Kapuccini, outskirts of Victoria on Sunday 26 July. She had been missing for three days. Mrs Holm had been on holiday in Malta with her son-in-law, her grandchildren and her son-in-law’s brother. The son in law had told police that the woman went missing after she went shopping on her own.

Addressing a crime conference soon after the gruesome find, police officers said the woman had sustained head and torso injuries but further tests would be needed to determine the cause of death.

Newsbook reported last week that the woman seemed to have been killed in Marsalforn or ended up in Rabat against her will. It said police were investigating footage from security cameras in Marsalforn which showed her leaving a supermarket in Triq il-Qbajjar before she walks out of shot.