OFW couple shot dead in QC

MANILA, Philippines - A couple, who recently arrived from their respective jobs abroad, were found dead in a house in Quezon City yesterday morning.

The bodies of Erika Mauricio and Al Bryan Padua, both of whom had been shot in the head, were discovered by a tenant who investigated the gunshots that she heard around 3 a.m. in a house in Barangay Roxas District.

Case investigator Police Officer 2 Alvin Quisumbing of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said the tenant, Ginalin Famatiga, also discovered the couple’s five-year-old son huddled in one corner. He was crying and asking for milk, he said.

Who shot whom?

Chief Inspector Rodelio Marcelo, head of the QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said it was still unclear who shot whom. He said it may be a case of suicide, or an incident of homicide and suicide.

Marcelo said Mauricio, who was found slumped on the bed, had a gunshot wound in her temple. Padua, meanwhile, had a gunshot wound in the back of his head and was found in a sitting position on the floor.

 â€œIt appears that the bullet entered through the mouth and exited at the back of his head, so it’s possible that the gun was placed in the mouth before it went off,” Marcelo said.

Quisumbing said investigators found a .45 caliber Colt pistol near Padua, as well as two bullets and two fired shells.

The investigator said the two bodies will be subjected to paraffin tests to check for traces of gunpowder and find out who fired the gun.

Police have yet to talk to the couple’s son.

Investigation disclosed that Mauricio came home from Dubai last May 15 with their five-year-old son, while Padua arrived from another country last May 17.

Relatives reportedly told the police that the two were not on good terms, but the investigator noted that Mauricio and her son went to the airport to fetch Padua when he came home.