American national murdered by nephew
BACOLOD CITY -- A 54-year old American national was found dead inside a septic tank of her residence in San Carlos City last Friday evening.
Police Superintendent Harold Tuzon, San Carlos City Police Station chief, identified the victim as Josefina Canete Furber who just arrived in the country last month.
The victim was reported as missing last March 26 by her nephew David Alegre, 20 and a resident of 4th Street Saint Vincent Subdivision in Barangay 1 of the city almost two weeks after she arrived in the province.
Alegre alleged that his aunt left San Carlos City in the afternoon of March 14 bound for Cebu City and was due to return on March 18. However, he alleged that Furber failed to return home.
Last Tuesday, however, Furber's sisters Diomedesa Sare and Estrella Lapaz requested for police assistance as they sensed something must have happened to their sister after her failure to call them up on her whereabouts.
This prompted the San Carlos City Police Station to invite Alegre for questioning as he was the last person seen with Mrs. Furber. Likewise, the victim's mother, Apolonia Canete confirmed to police investigators the arrival of her daughter last March 13 but wondered why Furber never asked permission from her to go to Cebu.
Investigators later confirmed that Furber's disappearance was deemed suspicious as they later learned during the conduct of investigation that Alegre hired four laborers on March 14 purposely to dig beside the house which was intended to be used as septic tank.
However, it was learned that Furber's nephew discontinued the digging for unknown reasons and later ordered the same laborers to cover it with cement the following day.
Finally, in the evening of April 10 and in the presence of barangay officials, the cemented hole at the residence of the victim was opened where police investigators discovered the cadaver of the victim wrapped in a plastic garbage bag.
Initial autopsy conducted by Dr. Lawrence Portugues of the City Health Office of San Carlos disclosed that the victim bore a stab wound on her right neck and contusions on her head.
The San Carlos City police are looking into the joint bank account of her mother Apolonia and nephew David Alegre as to the cause of Furber's death.
Alegre went into hiding after the victim’s body was discovered inside the septic tank.
Police Senior Superintendent Manuel Felix, NOPPO director, ordered manhunt operations against the suspect on the gruesome incident in order to give justice to Furber’s death. (PO2 Listini Lin C Villasana, PIO PNCO)