There has been a new twist to the Paulina Dembska murder case, with Times of Malta reporting that police are investigating whether suspect Abner Aquilina used to be a prostitute and whether he had tried to attack two men moments before killing his victim.

The report quotes sources as stating that Aquilina had tried to attack two men on the Balluta promenade on 2nd January before moving on to Independence Gardens, where he allegedly raped and killed Dembska.

Police are also reportedly investigating whether Aquilina had engaged in male prostitution to finance a drug habit and whether he was a “sexually conflicted” youth with a potential history of sexual offences against both men and women.

This new development could add new credence to the police’s theory that Dembska’s brutal murder wasn’t gender-motivated, a theory which activists have derided as “nonsensical” and “misogynistic”.

Following today’s report, men’s rights activist group Flimkien Missirijiet Inqumu said this development demonstrates that femicide shouldn’t be specifically criminalised but that existing laws should be better enforced.

The group also suggested the specific criminalisation of “gendercide” to ensure that the assault and murder of any individual, male or female, on the basis of gender, would be punished more harshly as a deterrent.

Aquilina was charged with Dembska’s rape and murder earlier this week and is pleading not guilty.

Dembska’s murder shocked the nation, with many pointing to the country’s long-standing issues with violence against women, particularly after it emerged that Aquilina had sent several abusive messages to women.

However, others have placed further emphasis on the mental health issue in Malta.

It has also prompted calls by activists for Malta to specifically criminalise femicide, a proposal that has been taken on by the Nationalist Party but dismissed by the government.