Stude stabs ex-girlfriend, then attempts suicide

DAGUPAN CITY — Too much love can really kill.

A nursing student stabbed several times his former girlfriend inside the St. John Cathedral here last Friday afternoon and when a policeman, who happened to be inside the church, was about to shoot him, he drank insecticide.

The victim, Michelle Soliven, 19, a nursing junior at the University of Pangasinan, sustained stab wounds in the arms and abdomen and was still in critical condition.

Police said Soliven and her boyfriend, Mark Cesar Pagal, 21, a nursing sophomore in the same university, had parted ways, but the latter wanted her back.

The two met at the cathedral late Friday afternoon, but Soliven rejected his plea to patch up their differences. She refused, and then came the attempt on her life.

When the attack happened, PO2 Alfonso Villamil was inside the church to attend Mass. Seeing Pagal stabbing Soliven, he shouted at the suspect and just as he was about to draw his gun, Pagal ran and he gave chase.

While escaping, Pagal took something from his pocket and drank it. He then fell unconscious.

Villamil rushed Pagal to the Nazareth General Hospital, while concerned citizens brought Soliven to the nearby Cuison Family Clinic. Both were in critical condition as of press time.

The STAR learned that Pagal left a supposed suicide note in his notebook addressed to his mother. It was his second attempt at suicide.

In the letter written in English, Pagal said he could no longer bear the pain caused by his break-up with Soliven.

"Mommy, sorry, I broke my promise, I did it again... This is all I know to finish the tears and pain I bear inside," Pagal wrote.

"I still love her more than my life. All I want is to be with her for the rest of my life," he added.

If he dies, Pagal asked his mother to have a tomb made of marble and on it a dove sculpture "to show that I died of loving her so much," and to play his favorite song, More Than Words, during his burial.

He also requested his mother not to hurt Soliven and to tell her that he loves her very much.