Two women, a mother and a daughter, who were reported missing to the police on Tuesday have been found dead in a field in the limits of Gudja, the police said.

On Thursday, the police had announced that Marija Lourdes Bonnici (left) and her daughter Angele Bonnici, aged 30 (right, and below), had been reported missing.

They lived in a house on Triq Santa Marija in Ghaxaq. The son/brother, named Joseph Bonnici, is being held by the police and is being interrogated. 

The police did not say whether there were any signs of violence on the women, but sources told The Malta Independent that the two were hit with a hard object, and then shot.

TVM reports that the mother and daughter were not killed in the field where they were found, but were transported there afterwards. It adds that the man admitted to the police.

The two were found partially buried in a field located in Trejqet Santu Kristu, off the Tal-Barrani Road in an agricultural area surrounding Ghaxaq, Gudja and Santa Lucija. 

The police said that after the two were reported missing, it had spoken to several people in the course of their investigations. The CID also questioned the neighbours of the family in Ghaxaq, some of whom are relatives. 

The field where the bodies were found belongs to the family, this newsroom is informed.

The narrow road leading to the field where the two women were found dead (Photo Alenka Falzon)

The grim discovery of the two bodies was made on Saturday morning after a person indicated to the police where the two women could be found. The police searched the area during the night until the bodies were located.

The mother and daughter had last been seen at their Ghaxaq home on Tuesday 26 March, at around 7am.

The interrogation of the son/brother is underway, sources said, adding that a number of forensic tests are being done on site, and on the corpses.

It is likely that the man will be arraigned tomorrow morning. 

Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo is leading an inquiry.