CEBU, Philippines - A 40-year-old woman was shot dead in Sitio Laguna, Barangay Cogon Pardo, Cebu City yesterday.
Estrella De Leon was shot at an alleyway packed with shanties around 12:30 pm. Police said De Leon might have known the suspects because she was rushing towards the two before one of the men pulled out a gun and shot her twice on the chest.
De Leon slumped to the ground as the children playing in the area scampered to safety. The suspects also rushed out of the alleyway and boarded and sped off on board a motorcycle parked thereat.
“Naglakaw na ang biktima unya naa siyaya nakasugat nga duha ka laki nga iya kuno na ilhan mao nga iya gi-duol ug gi-pusil dayon siya,” homicide investigator PO3 Ruth Violango told The FREEMAN.
At the crime scene, investigators recovered an empty shell believed to have come from a .45 caliber pistol. Aside from some children, no one else reportedly witnessed the shooting.
De Leon’s 60-year-old mother, Conchita, said her daughter had been working as a pimp in Barangay Kamagayan for years before she stopped just about two weeks ago and decided to live with her.
De Leon reportedly pulled herself out the trade after she figured in an unpleasant situation. “Naka- sala ko didto (Kamgayan),” Conchita recalled her daughter as saying.
Neighbors of the victim reportedly revealed that several men had suspiciously asked for De Leon’s whereabouts days prior to the shooting.
“Naa kuno magpasumangil nga mangita’g kaabangan nga balay unya human mangutana dayon kun asa nagpuyo ni si Estrella,” Violango said.
Investigators are now looking into the possibility that the victim might have been involved in illegal drugs. — (FREEMAN)