Woman found dead in Tondo

MANILA, Philippines - An unidentified woman was found dead at a grassy vacant lot near the government’s permanent housing site in Tondo, Manila yesterday afternoon.

Investigators said a group of children playing at the vacant lot adjacent to the Estero de Marala discovered the body of the half-naked woman on top of a grassy mound in what used to be the Smokey Mountain dump.

Estero de Marala straddles the border of Navotas and Manila and had been notorious as a dumping ground of summary execution victims in the past.

The woman, who was between 35 and 40 years old, was clad in a torn blouse and a panty. A pink handkerchief and a piece of the ripped blouse were tied around her neck, which probers said could be the cause of her death. Police did not rule out the possibility that the victim could have been raped and strangled to death afterward.

Onlookers failed to identify the victim but some of them told police the victim was often seen wandering in the area and believed to be suffering from a mental illness.