Married woman shot by ‘jealous’ cop still in coma

CEBU CITY — Cherry Augusto’s fragile hold on life continued yesterday at the intensive care unit of the Mactan Community Hospital.

Cherry, 24, has not regained consciousness since getting shot in the head by a jealous policeman named Clementino Dulguime Jr., on Thursday.

Dulguime, who blew his own brains out after shooting Cherry, was alleged to be her lover.

Cherry’s attending physician, neurosurgeon Wyben Briones, said she remains in critical condition and is surviving on several life support systems.

Dulguime, who got married only last July, is believed to have shot Cherry for fear she would go back to her estranged husband Zandro Augusto.

Just hours after she got shot, Cherry withdrew charges of immorality and grave misconduct she filed against assistant Cebu City prosecutor Mary Ann Castro, whom she allegedly caught with Zandro in a motel in August.

Sharon Espiel, 34, Dulguime’s wife of two months, went back to her hometown in Pilar, Siargao, Surigao del Norte, apparently to escape the controversy surrounding his death.

Traumatized by the incident, she has refused to eat since Thursday night, raising concerns among her relatives who decided to send her home.

In an exclusive interview with The Freeman Thursday night, Espiel said she never suspected that her husband was having an affair with Cherry.

She said she did not know either Cherry or Castro. — Freeman News Service