Doubtful Caloocan suicide

A 40-year-old bachelor in the terminal phase of brain cancer allegedly committed suicide yesterday in Caloocan City.

A seven-year-old witness to the crime, a niece of the victim, told probers she saw her uncle stab himself. But Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) findings, however, say otherwise.

Dr. Filemon Porciuncula, SOCO medico-legal officer who autopsied the body of Enrique Nagamos, store helper of Block 31, lot 4, Phase 2, Dagat-Dagatan Extension, Maypajo, Caloocan City, said the victim sustained three deep stab wounds, five and a half inches deep in the chest and abdomen lacerating the heart, the lungs, liver and intestines. The victim also had a stab wound in the nape.

"In the absence of a credible eyewitnesses, this type of suicide is highly doubtful. It is possible but highly remote," Porciuncula told The STAR. Suicides of this kind usually succumb to only one deep wound, not several, much less a self-inflicted wound in the nape, the officer said.

"A stab wound piercing the lung is enough to immobilize the victim and not strong enough for repeated stabbing," he said adding that the persons claiming suicide were not at the scene and did not actually see the victim while stabbing himself. SOCO probers said it is also possible that a suspected killer could have stabbed the victim in the nape, grabbed him from behind and stabbed him in the chest and abdomen last.

Prior to the incident, relatives of the victim told investigators that the victim already felt depressed about his condition.

The police are investigating to determine if foul play was involved in the incident. — Jerry Botia