'Notorious thief' found dead in Tisa

CEBU, Philippines - An alleged “notorious thief” was found dead in Barangay Tisa dawn yesterday.

The man was identified as Larry Morilla, 30, of sitio Angay-Angay of the same barangay. He was found a few meters from his house at around 5am.

He succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds on different parts of the body. 

PO2 Omar Cordova of the city police Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) was the one who found Morilla.

Cordova, who lives nearby, said he was awakened by multiple bursts of gunfire, prompting him to leap off of bed and rush out of his house. He reportedly saw Morilla bathed in his own blood in some bushes not from away.

Cordova reported the incident to the Punta Princesa Police Station that sent a response team to the area. The team leader, Sr. Insp. Fructoso Lim, declared Morilla dead.

PO3 Geoffrey Gutual, homicide investigator, told The Freeman that it is possible Morilla was not shot exactly on the spot where Cordova found him. This is because elements of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) failed to recover bullet shells from the area.

Also, not a single blood stain or signs of struggle were seen near the victim’s corpse, further supporting their “salvage” theory, Gutual said.

Theft was ruled out after the victim’ cellular phone and keys were recovered from his possession. 

Gutual said neighbors of the victim described him as a “notorious thief” at their barangay.

“The victim reportedly had a lot of theft records in their barangay after victimizing even his neighbors,” Gutual said, adding, that they are also eyeing personal grudge as motive behind the killing, considering Morilla’s number of enemies.

He, however, quickly denied that Morilla’s death was an act of vigilantism, saying that they still have to look deeper into the incident.

Morilla’s remains were brought to the St. Francis Funeral Homes for postmortem examination. (FREEMAN)