Rome, Apr 23 (IANS/AKI): A 45-year-old Sri Lankan migrant who police suspected of murdering his wife has died in a hospital in Italy from severe burns after a fire at their apartment.

The charred corpse of 42-year-old Maduri Warnacula, wife of Sarath Moragoda, was found in the couple's gutted apartment in the Sicilian city of Catania Saturday.

The woman had a rope around her neck and ankles.

Although Moragoda suffered critical burns in the blaze, he had not been tied up, leading investigators to suspect that he strangled Warnacula and attempted to destroy evidence of the murder by setting her body on fire.

Investigators believe the blaze got out of hand and rapidly spread through the apartment, trapping Moragoda inside.

Police questioned the couple's eight-year-old son who was attending catechism classes at the time his mother was killed, said Catania-based daily La Sicilia.

Neighbours told the paper that the couple were recently heard arguing inside their rented apartment located in Catania's run-down Picanello district.