A man has been found inside the boot of a car in Qormi Valley, with early indications being that the person - who is yet to be identified - has been murdered.

A police spokesperson on site said that passers-by reported that a suspicious smell was emanating from a vehicle at around 10:30am. 

Police on site confirmed the smell coming from a Peugeot 407, and the car was opened later in the day in the presence of Duty Magistrate Gabriella Vella.

The body of a man in a significant state of decomposition was found in the boot of the car, with early indications being that the man has been murdered.

 

Sources said that the boot was opened using the car's spare key in order to preserve any fingerprints which may have been left on it.

The man is yet to be identified, and he was found with his face covered with a blanket or some article of clothing.  The man was seen to be covered by a bloodied sheet down to his waist.

The vehicle which the body was found in corresponds to a car which was being used by a man who was reported missing by Police on Saturday.  That man, 62-year-old Mario Farrugia, was last seen at his residence in Pembroke on 28 March.

Farrugia was not an individual known to police, a spokesperson said.

Residents on site speaking to The Malta Independent said that they paid no attention to the car because a number of vehicles are frequently parked there for long periods of time.

While the exacts are not known, the presence of dirt on the car from the sandy rain which hit the islands some days ago coupled with the state of decomposition of the body indicates that the car has been in place for a number of days.

Police from the Major Crimes Unit, the Qormi district, and forensics are on site along with court experts aiding the magistrate in her inquiry.