CALUMPIT, Bulacan — For several days, residents in Barangay Gatbuka here were baffled by the strong foul odor coming from the house of their old wealthy widow neighbor.
Last Friday afternoon, they were shocked when policemen — accompanied by a barangay tanod and a widow’s kin — forcibly opened the locked doors of the house and found the decomposing body of 82-year-old Pacencia Estrella.
The victim was found wrapped in a blood-stained blanket inside a cabinet under the kitchen sink.
Police investigators also found drug paraphernalia at the crime scene. Police theorized that the murder was drug related.
The woman bore two stabbed wounds in the stomach and her head was believed hit by a hard object.
Chief Insp. Prudencio Legazpi, Calumpit police chief, said the victim has been living alone with his adopted son who was identified as Mark Anthony Tongco, 22.
Police has tagged Tongco as the suspect since he has reportedly been missing for the past several days. Legazpi said he has already formed a team to track down Tongco.
Gilbert Estrella, a nephew of the victim, sought police assistance when neighbors became suspicious and reported the foul odor coming from the house of the old woman.
Legazpi said a police team accompanied by the victim’s brother Domingo Estrella and barangay tanod Julio Ignacio forcibly opened the door of the house and discovered the widow’s body locked-up inside the built-in cabinet under the kitchen sink.
Police said that several appliances, jewelry and other valuables owned by the victim were missing. (Freddie C. Velez)
