Cypriot police have discovered a decomposed body stuffed in a suitcase at the bottom of a quarry lake, believed to be the sixth victim of a suspected serial killer.

A Greek Cypriot army officer has already confessed to killing five foreign women and two of their daughters in a murder spree that has shaken the Mediterranean island. 

Police have so far recovered the bodies of four women and one girl, including the remains of two other bodies in suitcases dumped in the same lake.

The body found on Tuesday is believed to be that of missing a 31-year-old who came from the Philippines.

"A suitcase was found in the lake which on first examination appears to be the remains of a body in a state of decomposition," police spokesman Andreas Angelides told reporters. "This is a very important development... we will now proceed with identifying the body," he added.

Divers are still searching another lake for the remains of a six-year-old Filipina girl, whose mother's body has already been found.

In addition to the Philippines, the other victims were from Nepal and Romania.

Undetected for years

The murders went undetected for nearly three years until tourists found a body in a mine shaft brought up by heavy rains.

That find led to the arrest on April 18 of a 35-year-old suspect, an army captain who has not been named.

The failure of authorities to initially investigate the missing persons cases has led to the sacking of the police chief and resignation of the justice minister.

Criticism has been particularly harsh since all the missing were foreign domestic workers considered to be on the margins of society. 

Officials said some of the murders may have been prevented had "negligent" officers properly investigated the first missing person's report in 2016.

cw/se (AFP, AP, dpa)

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