Inspector Salvador de la Cruz, Valenzuela police investigation branch chief, identified the victim as Salvador Orella Barcelon Jr., student, of 18 3rd Street, BBB, Marulas, Valenzuela.
Investigation showed that at about 5 p.m. Monday, the boy’s mother, Elvera Orella, 33, reported to the police that his son allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself with a leather belt.
Orella told police that she left her son alone in their house at about 4 p.m. and was surprised when she returned an hour later to see the boy hanging from the refrigerator handle wearing only his underwear.
The mother said she took the victim to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Investigators, however, are not buying the story of the victim’s mother, noting that it was quite impossible for a 10-year-old boy to hang himself from a four feet high refrigerator.
"I’ve ordered my men to look deeper into the case," De la Cruz said.
The victim’s body was brought to the Northern Police District’s crime laboratory for autopsy.
The victim’s neighbors were also surprised by the mother’s story, noting that earlier they saw the boy happily playing volleyball in the rain with three other children, police said.
Police added that the victim’s father, Salvador Barcelon Sr., a businessman, left their house two weeks ago after a fight with the boy’s mother, his live-in partner.