House helper, man commit suicide

CEBU – A native of Sogod, Southern Leyte hung herself under the stairway to the attic of the house of an American citizen in barangay Pundol, Balamban town, last Monday afternoon.

Emelie Gonzales Gayo, 20, worked as a stay-in house helper at the house of Ronald Cazo, an American, whose wife is her aunt.

PO2 Rolando Navarro said that the fatality was able to make a noose by tying two white shoelaces together.

Navarro said Cazo left home around 2 p.m. that day, leaving Emelie alone playing loud music. 

But when he came back after an hour the front and back doors were already locked.

The policeman said Cazo knocked the door as much as he could, called out Emelie and contacted her cellphone but there was no response.

The American asked the assistance from Emelie’s relative who is a barangay councilman and they forced their way in through the back door.

They later found the fatality already dead. Responding policemen brought her to the Balamban District Hospital and doctors reported that the fatality died with no open wounds or any sign of foul play.

Navarro added that Emelie and her relatives have a history of psychological illness.

Moreover, friends of the fatality reportedly said that her death might have to do with relationship problems with her boyfriend.

Police also said that there was no reported maltreatment or disagreements between Cazo and the victim. 

Meanwhile, a man also hung himself from a tree in barangay Daan, Tabogon town, last Monday morning.

The fatality, Reneboy Maloloy-on, 42, was found hanging from a Sampaloc tree behind the house he shared with his live-in partner Teresita Ygot, 79.

PO2 Arman Acabal of the Tabogon police said that there were no disagreement between Maloloy-on and his live-in partner although he left a suicide note behind asking for forgiveness from her.

Teresita could not think of any reason that would lead Maloloy-on to commit suicide and said their relationship was good. — Bentley Naire Luyong/BRP (THE FREEMAN)