The man who is facing criminal charges of having allegedly helped to hide the body of a murdered woman in July last year, today was charged separately with having falsified official documents.

Kristjan Zekic, 34, Russian born and bearing a Slovenian passport, appeared in court today for the continuation of the compilation of evidence in the murder of Eleanor Mangion Walker, who was found dead in a warehouse in Qormi.

He stands accused of having helped Andrew Mangion, who is accused of murdering his estranged wife, to hide Ms Mangion's body in the warehouse after she was killed in Swieqi.

Before Magistrate Ian Farrugia, the prosecution explained how the uncertainty regarding the real identity of the accused had arisen when police discovered that he had a Slovenian ID card and a passport from Uzbekistan in the name of Adhamjon Niyazov.

Police inspector Gabriel Micallef testified that an Uzbek passport in the name of Niyazov had been seized from the accused's apartment. During questioning, the accused had denied knowledge of the passport which bore his photo, insisting that he was Kristjian Zekic with Slovenian ID card.

The witness explained that police experts had concluded that the passport was false whereas the ID card was genuine. However, this conclusion was reversed by Interpol who pronounced the ID card to be "completely false". 

Shortly after the sitting, the accused was arraigned before Magistrate Anthony Vella and accused of having falsified immigration documents and knowingly made use of such documents.

He pleaded not guilty but no request for bail was made.  

Inspectors Keith Arnaud and Kylie Borg prosecuted.

Lawyer Giannella DeMarco was defence counsel.