The lead suspect in the murder of a woman in Kordin was arrested by the police after a 17-hour operation.

Roderick Cassar, the woman's husband, was arrested in his home.

He was taken to hospital for a check-up and was released a few hours later. The police are questioning him on yesterday's incident.

The police had surrounded the man’s house just one hour after the woman, Bernice Cassar, was shot dead.

The police negotiated with the man for his surrender for several hours, but the man did not turn himself in.

At 2.30am, officers from the Special Intervention Unit entered the man’s apartment, on the second floor of a block of flats in Kartaginizi Street, Qrendi.

Flashbang shots were fired in the operation which led to the arrest of the man within seconds, the police said.

Officers also found the weapon which was allegedly used in the killing.

The man suffered no injuries, but was assisted on site by a medical team, the police said.

The aggressor fired three shots, and the victim was hit by two – in her face and chest. She died on the spot.

The police later located the aggressor in his home at Qrendi, and surrounded the area for long hours before they stormed the building to arrest him.

During the course of the 17-hour standoff, Cassar briefly spoken to police and even posted on social media after the murder.

In one post, he apologised and wrote that he could not stand the thought of life without his two children.    

Bernice Cassar had filed several domestic violence reports against her husband, leading to the police to press criminal charges against him last May.

The couple had been married for nine years.

A court ordered Roderick Cassar to not approach his estranged wife, but he repeatedly violated that protection order.

Proceedings against the man were due to start in November 2023.