Man kills wife in gas station restroom

MANILA, Philippines - A man believed to be mentally ill strangled his wife in the restroom of a gasoline station in Quezon City yesterday.

Police have Ronnie Montero in custody after he killed his wife, Amy, at past midnight yesterday at the gas station along Regalado Avenue in Barangay North Fairview, Police Officer 2 George Caculba said.

Caculba said Montero was with his wife and cousin, Cesar Lopez, in an FX taxi bound for Camarin, Caloocan City. The FX taxi driver had stopped at the station to gas up.

Lopez told police they were supposed to bring Montero to an “albularyo” or faith healer in Camarin for treatment yesterday since his cousin started to act as if he was possessed by evil spirits at his father’s wake last week.

Montero got out of the vehicle and asked his wife to follow him to the restroom. When Lopez heard Amy shouting for help, he and taxi driver Joel Briones tried to open the restroom door but found it locked.

After it was opened, Lopez and the others found Amy lying on the floor. Briones ran after Montero and called the attention of bystanders, asking them to stop Montero. The bystanders beat up Montero, thinking he was a robber.

When asked why he killed his wife, Montero said Amy had wanted to kill him. He claimed his wife got angry when he asked her if she wanted to follow his father to the grave.

According to other reports, Montero said he killed his wife since she planned to admit him into a mental hospital.