A woman who was found killed in Santa Venera on Friday morning has been identified as Shannon Mak.

A man has admitted with the police, during interrogation, that he killed her, police sources said.

The woman, who the police said in the afternoon had been identified as being Dutch, was found dead, lying on the side of the road between two parked cars with evident injuries in Triq il-Mastrudaxxi at 6.20am.

The woman, around 30 years old, had been seen in Qawra a few hours earlier. She was found with her throat slit.

In a statement, the police said they are questioning a Dutch man as part of their investigations. Later sources told The Malta Independent that the man, who lives in the area where the woman was found dead, admitted to the killing.

In its official statement, the police said that she was killed with a pointed and sharp instrument (knife).

The woman was found wearing a form of wristband which indicated that she worked or was associated with an iGaming company on the island.

It is not known whether the woman was killed on site or whether she was killed somewhere else and then left on the road where she was found.

One person who lives in the area told The Malta Independent that he passed by at around 1am and the body had not been there at the time.

Other residents said that they had heard no commotion during the night, and that the first indication that they got that something was wrong was when they saw police cars arriving at the scene.

Police and forensic experts are on site.

An inquiry is being held, led by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech (above).

Inspector Kurt Zahra from the Homicide Squad is leading the investigation along with Inspector Robert Vella from the Hamrun police station.

Photos Alenka Falzon