MANILA, Philippines - A foul odor led neighbors to the decomposing body of a murdered woman in one of the rooms of a boarding house in Tondo, Manila Monday night.
The victim, a certain “Luna,” could have been dead for at least four days since her body was already in a late stage of decomposition, according to Manila Police District’s homicide section chief Inspector Armando Macaraeg.
Luna’s bloated body was found lying face down on the blood-soaked bed. She was wearing a red shirt and denim pants and had a kitchen knife in her right hand. She sustained a gaping wound in the neck.
“The suspect intended to make it appear as if the woman killed herself. But the disarrayed belongings inside the room revealed otherwise,” Macaraeg said.
Police Officer 2 Roderick Pacilan said neighbors sought barangay officials since they could not bear the stink coming from the second floor of a house along Pilapil street in Tondo.
Barangay officials and a brother of the landlady had to break open the door, which was locked on the outside, to gain entry. It was then they discovered the victim’s body.
Pacilan said on Thursday night the victim was last seen in the company of a man, allegedly a relative, in her room. Later on, a woman tenant heard sounds of a commotion from the victim’s room but ignored it.
The male “relative” was described by witnesses as in his early 30s, with a medium build and fair complexion and was reportedly from Davao.
However, text messages saved in the victim’s cell phone showed the man was not her relative but a lover. “The victim’s sister whom I talked to on the cell phone confirmed that the man was a boyfriend of the victim,” Pacilan said.
Pacilan also gathered that the victim, who sold women’s clothing in Divisoria, fetched the man from the pier on Jan. 10 and brought him to her rented room.
Macaraeg formed a follow-up team of police trackers to identify and arrest the suspect.