A woman in Lipa City, Batangas died after she was severely beaten by a man Wednesday (July 30). Authorities said the victim was found unconscious by residents in a tricycle at Villa Beatriz Subdivision, Purok 3, Barangay Tambo around 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, bearing severe bruises on her face and other parts of the body.
She was rushed to the hospital but died a few hours later. For days, the victim’s identity was unknown leading authorties to bury her temporarily. “Swollen ‘yun eyes niya. Lumalabas sa bibig at ilong ‘yung dugo. Base sa autopsy, ang cause ng death niya ay mauling o pambubugbog,” said P/Lt. Col. Aleli Buaquen, chief of the Lipa City Police Station.
CCTV footage showed the victim exiting a house around 2:00 a.m. last July 31, seemingly struggling to walk and eventually sat on the pavement near the spot where she was later found. Backtracking more CCTV footage in the area, investigators saw the victim walking with a man around midnight and they were later seen boarding a tricycle.
Investigators confirmed that the man in the CCTV footage was also the owner of the house the victim was seen exiting, and added that they also found the victim’s underwear inside the said house. The man was arrested and eventually confessed to the crime. “Hindi ko po sinasadya,” he said.
“Ang claim ng suspek ay sila ay may usapan for sexual services. Nagkaroon daw ng pagtatalo at naitulak daw niya ‘yung babae, nabagok, dinala sa bahay at nagkaroon muli sila ng pagtatalo at mas nasaktan pa ‘yung babae,” the police chief added. On Monday, the victim’s siblings arrived at the Lipa Batangas City Police Station and positively identified her through photos. One of her brothers said he had not seen his sister for four years and that they had only been in contact through chat. The victim was originally from Sagay City, Negros Occidental, and has several children.
