Vendor found dead along Osmeña Boulevard

CEBU, Philippines - A 50-year-old fruit vendor who was sleeping at the sidewalk along Osmeña Boulevard was found dead with stab wounds on her body around 5am yesterday.

The victim was identified as Urbana Pepito Monares, a native of Vicente, Tabogon town. Police suspect Monares was robbed before she was killed because her earnings and her box of fruits were already missing.

Roche Guisando, 20, homeless, who also slept at the area, said she woke up around 5am and saw blood coming from Monares who was lying nearby covered with a green blanket.

When she approached Monares, she then saw stab wounds on the victim’s stomach, left chest, neck and right upper arm.

This prompted Guisando to seek the help of Jimmy Romague, the duty guard of the nearby Anitas bakeshop, who then called the police.

Monares’ daughter, Jeny Inot, 33, said she was sleeping with her husband and two children just next to her mother and did not notice any commotion. What was separating them, she said, was an umbrella they used as cover.

It was Inot who discovered that her mother’s money which was placed in a backpack and the box of fruits were already missing.

A wooden knife measuring 16 inches was recovered from the crime scene. Monares’ remains now lie at the St. Francis Funeral Homes and will be subjected to an autopsy.

Monares’ body was found just a day after the body of Pedro Kamelo, who would have turned 85 two days from now, was found on his bed with stab wounds on his head and face.

The police believed that Kamelo, who is living off his pension from the United States, was killed during a robbery as his money worth P21,000 and jewelry estimated to be over P100,000, as well as a gun, are missing.

Both perpetrators of both incidents remain unidentified.

Both cases are currently being investigated by the Theft and Robbery Section of the Cebu City Police Office.   (FREEMAN NEWS)