Couple in Las Piñas ingested oxalic acid

MANILA, Philippines - A couple found dying at the parking lot of a mall in Las Piñas City on July 9 ingested oxalic acid, officials said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Emmanuel Aranas, acting director of the Philippine National Police’s Crime Laboratory, said in a report dated Aug. 6 that the stomach contents of Jose Maria Escano and his wife, Juliet, and the items taken from them tested positive for oxalic acid.

Jose Maria, 51, was a manager of a pharmaceutical firm while Juliet, 50, was a bank manager.

Aranas said oxalic acid is a poisonous, colorless substance that is not easily detected when dissolved in water or beverages.

Quoting Aranas, Senior Superintendent Elimer Catabay said the autopsy found that the cause of death of the Escanos was “shock secondary to ingestion of toxic substance.”

Members of the Scene of the Crime Operations team from the Southern Police District, led by Senior Inspector Elena Medina, recovered a plastic bottle of juice, two paper cups, a small plastic cup containing what they suspected to be vomit, two plastic straws, and a plastic trash bin.

Aranas said it will take only 40 milligrams of oxalic acid to kill a person.

A security guard at the mall said Juliet was found unconscious in the driver’s seat while Jose was sprawled in the back seat.

Catabay said the forensic investigation did not cover how the couple ingested oxalic acid.

“We submitted our report to the Las Piñas City police, which will conduct thorough investigation. Our report from the crime lab could help them in finding out the truth behind the death of the couple,” he added.

The Las Piñas police has widened its investigation and included the victim’s work background and retracing their activities on the day they died.