Dutch man confesses to ex-girlfriend's murder in Malta

A 24-year-old Dutch man confessed to murdering his ex-girlfriend, whose body was found in Santa Venera, Malta. Jelle R., from Sneek in Friesland, had denied any involvement in the 2018 death of the 30-year-old Monnikendam woman, Shannon Mak.

R. changed his plea to guilty during a Wednesday hearing in front of an investigating magistrate, according to the Times of Malta.The two were colleagues in the online gaming business, and had been in a relationship for more than a year. They reportedly broke up just before Mak was found fatally stabbed outside R.’s apartment at about 6:15 a.m. on 3 August 2018.

She was stabbed in the neck, kicked and beaten, a forensic examiner told the court. Some evidence also suggested Mak may have been assaulted in the home.

According to a newspaper account of a 2019 hearing, one neighbor testified, saying, “I just heard shouting. It was like the woman was possessed. No words. I heard screams… subsiding slowly until it was replaced by a gurgling sound.”

He said he heard this around 2:30 a.m. while smoking a cigarette on his balcony, with someone on the street noticing the body a few hours later. Police showed up soon after, but it was not clear if a call was placed to emergency services when the gruesome sounds were heard.

An offender convicted on a charges of willful homicide can be sentenced to life imprisonment in Malta. The magistrate closed the investigation and handed the case off to the criminal court for sentencing, as magistrates in the EU nation are not allowed to imprison people for more than 12 years.