4 Tangub family members found dead at home

 By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Four family members were found in an advance state of decompositi

on yesterday morning in what police believed as a massacre in Bacolod City’s Barangay Tangub.

Police identified the fatalities as 60-year-old Jocelyn Nombre, 68-year-old Gemma Espinosa, 30-year-old Michael Espinosa, and six-year-old Precious Espinosa, all residents of Gardenville Subdivision in the said barangay.

Police Major Joery Puerto, Police Station 8 commander, said based on their initial investigation, a certain Jona Delo Santos received a phone call from Jonel Benjamin, a relative of the victims, stating that Jocelyn was not answering her mobile phone.

Delo Santos immediately contacted the police and when they went to the victims’ house yesterday morning they discovered the remains in different parts of the house either wrapped in blankets or cardboard boxes.

Puerto said initial examination of the remains revealed that all of the victims were hit in the head using a hard object. The remains were immediately transported to a funeral home in the city to determine if the victims had incurred other wounds which would have led to their deaths.

Puerto also believes that there may be at least two suspects in the massacre, as some of the bodies have clearly been dragged or moved from where they were attacked.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) have also arrived to gather evidence in the crime scene and some of the swabs have been taken for DNA test. The victims were believed to have been dead for at least two to three days already.

SOCO also recovered one of the victims’ mobile phones which was also sent for analysis.

The Police Station 8 chief said they interviewed some of the neighbors and aside from the smell, they have not heard any noise which may suggest a struggle had taken place.

Police have also ruled out that a robbery may have taken place as the victims’ valuables have all been accounted for.

There is also no close circuit television (CCTV) footage, as the CCTV found outside the victims’ home was only a decoy, while the CCTV at a warehouse located near the victims’ home is also not functional.

Meanwhile, Christian “Don-don” Tulot was tagged as the suspect. Police said he has already been located in the town of Don Salvador Benedicto, and the local town police have invited him for questioning. During the search, police recovered a suspected shabu from his possession.

Police added that the suspect’s neighbors in Barangay Bunga noted that he had been acting suspiciously for several days already since Sunday, the day when the crime was believed to have been committed./DGB, WDJ