A woman was murdered in an apartment in Birkirkara late on Sunday evening, with her alleged aggressor escaping to St Julian's where he was confronted by police officers, who shot him dead when he pointed a weapon which later turned out to be a replica in their direction, the police said.

The woman, aged 48, was killed in Maestro Giuseppe Busuttil shortly before midnight. She was named as Nicolette Ghirxi, who had been in a relationship with her aggressor, a man of Irish nationality, named Edward Johnston. The relationship had broken down.

Addressing a press conference on the incidents, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa said that police were called at around 11:50pm by employees at the Hilton Hotel who reported that a man carrying a firearm was threatening them. Police went on site where searches were held.

The alleged aggressor, later identified as 50-year-old Irishman Edward Johnston, was seen by police in an area on the rocks in St Julian’s. Once police approached him, the alleged aggressor jumped into the sea, and started pointing his firearm to his head.

Gafa said that at this point, members of the Rapid Intervention Unit as well as other members of the Corp, a total of 21 officials, began negotiations with the man for him to get out of the sea, and put down his firearm.

He said that in the meantime, Johnston himself said that he had killed someone. The police established the address in Swatar, limits of Birkirkara, where they went on site and had to break in the apartment block in Triq Maestro Giuseppe Busuttil, as it was locked.

There, police found a woman, later identified as 48-year-old Nicolette Ghirxi, who lived in the same apartment. She was found on the ground with her face upwards, with preliminary investigations indicating that she had been stabbed at the top part of her body, and was certified dead on site. 

Police also found two potential murder weapons next to her, two knives, Gafa said.

At St Julian’s, police continued negotiations with the alleged aggressor which took three hours, where the police warned the aggressor to put down his firearm. 

Gafa said that Johnston then got out of the sea, put the firearm down from his head, and pointed at the police who were circling him on site. The police were constrained to fire at the man due to their lives being in potential danger, Gafa said.

After the police fired at the man, he was given immediate medical assistance and taken to Mater Dei hospital, were he was certified dead. Autopsies on both bodies are yet to be done, to determine more details of the murder.

Magistrate Philip Galea Farrugia is leading an inquiry into the case, and the Police’s Firearms Review Panel will also be investigating the police’s discharge onto the man.

Gafa said that preliminary investigations revealed that the man’s firearm was actually a replica. 

The police said that Ghirxi, back in April, had filed a report to the police that she was receiving harassment emails from Johnston from abroad, as he is not believed to have resided in Malta.

Two days later, Ghirxi had made more reports that she was receiving emails and messages of harassment. 

Ghirxi went to the police twice more in May. Gafa said that on those same days, the Gender Based and Domestic Violence Unit as well as other Agencies had contacted Ghirxi to conduct a risk-assessment on her case, however, Ghirxi had refused, as she felt that she was not under imminent risk.

Last Thursday, Ghirxi had informed the police that she thought that Johnston could have arrived in Malta. 

Gafa said that the case is being treated as a femicide, as Johnston was the one to tell the police that he had killed a person.

Police entering the apartments in Maestro Giuseppe Busuttil Street in Birkirkara where a woman was murdered this morning

The spot in St Julian's where the confrontation between the police and the alleged aggressor occurred early on Monday