Ma. Susana Arcaya went to identify the body and told the police it was her nephew Jerry Centillas, whose mother died a long time ago, and whose father is now living with another woman already.
Arcaya said Centillas' elder brother was also killed at Carbon last year and he had a younger brother under his care.
She admitted knowing Centillas involvement in snatching activities at the Carbon area but she said that the woeful situation of the life of her nephew could be the reason why he befriended the bystanders and got into such kind of criminal activities.
However, even if Centillas was involved in snatching, Arcaya said it could not be reason enough to kill him on the spot because he was all along a victim of circumstance.
The identity of the assailant could not be ascertained yet but Arcaya said the family wanted to seek justice for his nephew's death despite the failure of the police to solve vigilante killings in the city.
Homicide investigator SPO2 Jay Yballe said a witness narrated that before the shooting, Centillas and a companion snatched a pair of earrings from a woman then casually walked away from the scene.
But when the snatching victim shouted for help, a man suddenly alighted from a jeepney and followed Centillas into the Unit 3 of the Carbon area. Shortly after, a single gunfire was heard.
Centillas was then found with a gunshot wound in his back. He died before reaching the Cebu City Medical Center. Another woman, 48, was reportedly taken to the hospital with a wound on her forearm after she was hit by the same bullet that killed Centillas.
That incident however could not be readily attributed to the vigilantes, said Yballe. - Flor Z. Perolina