Suicide in Imus mall

Breaking News: Man Allegedly Commits Suicide Inside Robinsons Mall in Imus (Photos) October 20, 2011 http://www.pinoyshoutouts.com/2011/10/breaking-news-man-allgedly-commits-suicide-inside-the-robinsons-mall-in-imus-photos/ 

CCTV shows man leaped to death in Imus mall Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 20, 2011 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/79849/man-leaps-to-death-in-robinsons-imus 

Youth commits suicide inside mall Tempo, October 22, 2011 http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/youth-commits-suicide-inside-mall/#.TqKXFXHCP7A 

IMUS, Cavite, Philippines – A depressed youth committed suicide by jumping from a high 4th level area of a mall in this town, police said Friday.

In a report to Senior Supt. John C. Bulalacao, Cavite Police Provincial Office (PPO) director, Supt. Hersan H. Mojica, Imus police chief, identified the fatality as Adrian L. Hidalgo, 20, a resident of 316 Golf Street, Silver Homes Classic, Barangay Mambog I, Bacoor, Cavite, and a student of Informatics Center at the 4th floor of the mall in Tanzang Luma III.

Hidalgo died on the spot after he leaped from the rail of the mall’s 4th floor area. He sustained severe head and body injuries.

Detective Dennis L. Magsaysay said the victim was identified by his mother Gemma D. Hidalgo, 47, and his relatives at the morgue.

Magsaysay, citing a report of relatives, claimed that Hidalgo had been getting medical attention for the last three years due to depression.

Hidalgo was described as “tahimik na bata” (silent-type youth). Masaysay said that Hidalgo, who wore a black framed-eyeglasses, black t-shirt, a pair of maong pants and Havaianas slippers, was seen roaming in the floor area before he jumped from the railing at 12:24 noon Thursday, based on the CCTV (closed-circuit television) recorder.

It was the second suicide incident that was reported in Cavite in 14 hours. Last Wednesday night, a male patient died after he jumped from the window of an intensive care unit (ICU) room at the 4th floor of a hospital in General Trias town. (Anthony Giron)

Here's the related report : http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/faith-cures-depression-%E2%80%93-cavite-priest/#.TqKZHXHCP7A

...the police recorded another suicide case in Cavite with the demise of a depressed male patient who reportedly jumped out of a 40-feet-high hospital building last Wednesday night in General Trias town.

The 55-year-old victim, who underwent dialysis, leaped unnoticed from the window of the intensive care unit (ICU) room, it was reported.

There were more or less 25 suicide incidents in the province that was reported to the police this year alone.

Scene of the Crime Operatives

CSI a la PNP 
By Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star) October 16, 2011 
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=737947&publicationSubCategoryId=90

MANILA, Philippines - We watch “CSI” and all those popular crime shows on television and wonder when our police will ever have those high-tech gizmos to solve crimes. Wonder no more. 

It may be the best kept police secret, but the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame, Quezon City is now a modern unit with advanced equipment and highly trained personnel. The agents of the Crime Lab, commonly called SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives), are as crucial to crime solution as police officers chasing criminals.

Deputy Director General Arturo Cacdac Jr., PNP deputy chief for operations, says a number of high profile cases have been resolved with the help of highly-trained forensic examiners using advanced and modern equipment.

“Police work not only involves intelligence gathering and crime prevention. It also involves crime scene investigation. So we need high-tech equipment and capable forensic examiners,” Cacdac tells STARweek.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=737947&publicationSubCategoryId=90

Drug Pusher Executed

Apparent victims of summary execution found in Manila
By Jeannette I. Andrade, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 28th, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—The bodies of a man and a woman, believed to be victims of summary execution, were discovered five minutes apart early Thursday in Manila’s San Andres Bukid district.

Both bodies bore strangulation marks, had their hands bound and packaging tape wound around their faces.

Placed on the male victim’s body was a sign, wrapped in a clear plastic bag, which read: “Pusher ako. Magnanakaw din ako (I am a drug pusher. I am also a thief).”

Police Officer 3 Giovanni Valera of the Manila Police District homicide section described the male victim to be between 45 and 50 years old, five-foot-four inches tall, fair-skinned, of medium build, and clad in a white sleeveless shirt and gray sweater and camouflage pants.

The woman was also between 45 and 50 years old, five-foot-one inch tall, fair-skinned, and clad in a dark blue shirt and checkered pants.

Neither of the bodies, he pointed out, bore a tattoo mark and they were found separately at Barangay (village) 807 Zone 87 in San Andres Bukid.

Valera said that the first body to be discovered was that of the woman, who was found at around 1:05 a.m. lying on the gutter of a sidewalk along Perlita Street near Dagonoy Street.

Neighborhood watch member Salvador Lligarco was conducting a routine patrol along Perlita Street when he stumbled onto the body and immediately reported his find to the police.

Five minutes later, 37-year-old vendor Ruben Mingote was about to go to sleep on the sidewalk on Sergio Osmena Highway when his pet dog started barking and growling and would not stop.

When Mingote decided to investigate, he found the man’s body dumped on the gutter along the highway near Zobel Roxas Street. He immediately sought the help of roving policemen.

Valera said that both bodies were possibly killed and dumped in the area by the same perpetrators, judging from the manner the victims were executed.

He pointed out that the woman could have been collateral damage with the male victim the suspects’ primary target. The case investigator stressed that the woman could have simply been at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The bodies were taken to the St. Harold funeral parlor for autopsy.

2 bodies found in San Andres
By Nestor Etoll, The Philippine Star, July 29, 2011

MANILA, Philippines - The bodies of a man and a woman, believed to have been executed, were discovered a few feet apart on a sidewalk in San Andres, Manila at past midnight yesterday.

Police described the two victims as in their late 40s, the man wearing a pair of camouflage pants and a white undershirt beneath a gray sweater, while the woman was clad in checkered short pants and a dark blue t-shirt.

Their faces were wrapped in packaging tape and their hands were tied. A plastic bag was placed atop the man’s body with a message in Filipino: “I am a (drug) pusher and robber.”

Initial investigation showed the bodies bore bruises all over. “These victims could have been suffocated to death,” an investigator said.

A couple told police they were roused from sleep by a dog barking and when they looked around, they saw the body of a man lying on the sidewalk along Osmeña Highway near its intersection with Zobel Roxas street in San Andres.

They also discovered the woman’s body several feet away. No one in the area could identify the victims. Police believe the victims could have been killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in the area to mislead investigators.

Inquirer report on woman burned in motel

Photo by Jenny Reyes, ABS-CBN News

Man charged for killing GRO in Pasig motel room
By Niña Calleja, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 20th, 2011
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/26689/man-charged-for-killing-gro-in-pasig-motel-room

The man accused of killing and burning the body of a woman inside a motel in Pasig City was charged on Wednesday with murder and arson at the city prosecutor’s office.

Case investigator Senior Police Officer 2 Rogelio Baltazar said Raymond Camarse, 44, a resident of Quezon City, was arrested after he was caught fleeing from the crime scene.

His victim was identified as Regine Fernandez, a 20-year-old guest relations officer at a hotel in Cebu City.

Her body was found inside a room in Country Lodge at around 2 p.m. on Tuesday. It was under a pile of burning clothes, a pair of sandals, parts of a wooden chair and glass shards.

The policeman said the victim had been stabbed to death.

“The fire was done to cover up the crime. Had the suspect fled undetected, the identity of the victim would still be unknown up to now,” Baltazar added.

Before the victim’s burnt body was discovered, the suspect was spotted hurriedly leaving the motel room and trying to start his car.

Sensing that something was wrong, an employee of the motel blocked his way with a movable metal fence.

The suspect, however, forced his way out of the motel on board his car but members of the barangay (village) security force and policemen who were alerted by suspicious motel staffers apprehended him just a few meters away from the entrance.

They found in the back seat of his vehicle the kitchen knife allegedly used in the killing as well as the victim’s identification cards.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no one has claimed the victim’s body, the police said.

The suspect, on the other hand, remains detained at the Pasig police headquarters.

Baltazar said the suspect told him that the victim was his mistress and that he had tried to break up with her.

Earlier reports, however, said that the woman was killed because she wanted out of the relationship.

Here's a link to the first reports about the crime from ABS-CBN and GMA News:
http://metrocrimescene.blogspot.com/2011/07/woman-murdered-burned-inside-motel.html

Which makes me wonder: was this murder premeditated? Based on this report, it does sound like the suspect panicked and used whatever was at the scene to commit the crime. (Although, I still wonder where he got the kerosene.) The suspect panicked and was supposedly seen hurrying out of the motel and that's why the staff got suspicious on his actions.

Could this suspect be the same person who committed these crimes back in 2008:
http://metrocrimescene.blogspot.com/2008/09/firestarter.html

Woman murdered, burned inside motel

A REPORT BY JENNY REYES, ABS-CBN NEWS http://twitter.com/jennyfreyes
http://rp1.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/07/19/11/woman-killed-burned-inside-pasig-motel

A woman was killed and her body was burned inside a motel room allegedly by her boyfriend, police said Tuesday.

Pasig City police chief Senior Superintendent Jesse Cardona said the incident occurred at about 2 p.m. at a room of the Country Lodge Motel.

The 20-year-old victim, who hails from Cebu, was burned almost beyond recognition. Cardona identified the victim through an ID card as Regine Fernandez, a native of Cebu City and an employee of the Cebu Waterfront Hotel.

She was stabbed 3 times and her neck was slashed, investigators said.

The suspect, 44-year-old Raymond Camarse, was arrested while he was trying to escape from the crime scene.

He was nabbed because his car broke down outside the motel.

Police found a suitcase filled with clothes and a knife inside the suspect's car.

Camarse is believed to have poured either kerosene or gasoline on the woman's body after killing her.

Firefighters said they thought the case was a simple fire incident until they discovered the women's charred body on the bed.

Motel employees said Camarse and the woman checked in 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

They later noticed thick smoke coming from the couple's room and called for help from firefighters.

Senior Police Officer 2 Roger Baltazar said motel staff also became suspicious because Camarse suddenly checked out without the woman.

The suspect told police that he wanted to break up with the woman but the victim refused, Chief Inspector Roderick Tonga said.

Police are now trying to contact the victim's relatives.

Other details taken from:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/226759/nation/woman-found-dead-burned-inside-pasig-motel


Could this case be connected to the 2008 murders, where two women were also found burned in motel rooms?
http://metrocrimescene.blogspot.com/2008/09/firestarter.html