Woman, 70, murdered inside own home
A septuagenarian was found dead inside her own home at the upscale Ledesco Village in La Paz, Iloilo City dusk of Wednesday.
Seventy-two year old Lolita Chan, a spinster, was already slumped at their doorstep and was bathing on her pool of blood when their family driver discovered her body.
She succumbed to two stab wounds on her nape. The cut portion of the knife was still embedded at the victim’s nape when found.
According to Victor Magtulis, it was his daily routine to park the vehicle inside the victim’s two-storey house.
But on that day, at around 5:45 p.m., nobody opened the gate for him, contrary to Chan’s usual practice.
“Nag doorbell ko. Sang wala may nagbukas pa gid, nag text ko kay Boss nga wala tawo kag indi ko kasulod,” Magtulis claimed.
The “Boss” apparently referred to the victim’s brother, Cesar Chan.
Reports said that Cesar was the one managing their construction supply business.
Cesar then texted Magtulis and ordered the driver to just scale the gate so that he could open it.
“Ginkay-o ko anay park sa gwa ang salakyan. Pagtaklas ko nakita ko ang iya tiil. May dugo nga mala,” he narrated.
It was then that Magtulis called out for help.
When police investigators arrived, the victim was already dead.
Some of the things inside the house were already in disarray and several drawers were left opened.
There was also no trace as to the identity of the suspects.
According to La Paz Police Station commander Chief Insp. Giovanni Musico, initial investigation did not reveal much of the suspects’ identities.
“But we are looking at the possibility that the victim knew the suspects,” Musico claimed adding that the victim was known for her strictness meticulousness and would not allow anyone in unless she knew them.
The househelp of Chan’s neighbor claimed to have heard someone knocking at the gate at around 4:00 p.m.
She claimed to have heard a shout from the Chan domicile an hour later.
But the helper said that she did not see anything because of the victim’s high-walled fence.
Further, at around 12:00 noon of the same day, a tricycle driver also claimed to have seen a multi-cab parked outside the Chan’s residence house with two men on board.
But he claimed to have not taken a closer look at them.
Meanwhile, Musico learned that at around 3:30 p.m., personnel of Oasis Water Refilling Station delivered galloons of mineral water at Chan.
The delivery personnel claimed that it was Chan who personally received them.
Not much was also gathered from the subdivision’s security guards.
“The guard claimed that someone asked them about the block where the victim’s house was found. But the guard said that he could not identify them or recorded their vehicle’s plate number,” Musico said.
Home alone
Despite the vastness of the house, Chan lived there together with a dog.
She only hired someone to do her laundry and clean her house every week.
It was gathered that Chan lived in the subdivision for five years after leaving in the United States, where she worked for about two decades.
