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Thursday, March 24, 2005
Woman slain in apartment
By Jovy S. Taghoy
CEBU CITY -- A female employee of a recording firm owned by a television network was found dead with 13 stab wounds inside a rented apartment on N. Bacalso Ave., Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
She was identified as Marivel Apolinario-Relacion, 34, a resident of Pinagsama Village Phase 2, Taguig, Metro Manila and a customer service staff of Star Records-Manila, a recording company owned by ABS-CBN Entertainment Group.
Relacion, a married woman with three children, was found lying on her back and bathed in her blood inside her rented room at the second floor of Mataragnon building.
She was wearing a white T-shirt that was rolled up to her neck. She had no underwear.
Her body was covered with a plastic mat and her face was under a bath towel when homicide investigators led by SPO3 Alex Dacua and personnel from the Scene of the Crime Operations (Soco) found her inside the room.
Police, who are focusing on jealousy as motive, have at least two suspects: one her business partner, another a seaman. Both were romantically involved with Relacion, whose husband is out of the country.
Disarray
Relacion was stabbed 13 times, with two fatal wounds in her chest and three in her back. Her wrists were also injured, indicating that she tried to shield herself, Dacua and SPO4 Virgilio Bagasala, one of the responding Soco personnel, told reporters.
Her legs were bruised.
The room was in disarray, indicating a struggle. But investigators, including Senior Insp. Ambrosio Ibones of the Theft and Robbery Section (TRS), found no signs of a forced entry, which would suggest a robbery.
Relacion was married to Carmel Relacion, who is working in Dubai. They have three children.
Dacua and his team, however, learned that Relacion was also romantically involved with her business partner Benjamin "Benjie" Martin for the past three years.
Martin was Relacion's business partner in Mavilar Commercial, which is engaged in distributing generic medicine in Cebu City.
No weapon
The apartment Relacion rented also served as the main office of their business. Relacion and Martin were reportedly living together in the apartment.
Relacion also allegedly had a boyfriend identified as seaman Jojo Cababan of Sibonga, Cebu.
Dacua said judging from the traces of blood leading to the comfort room, the perpetrator appeared to have washed up before leaving the crime scene.
Bagasala, on the other hand, said the towel covering Relacion's face could have been used to keep her from shouting.
Investigators failed to find the weapon used in killing Relacion.
Dacua's team only found two pairs of men's jeans and an authorization letter dated November 2004 bearing the name Benjamin Martin.
Relacion's body was taken to Cebu Rolling Hills Memorial Chapel for autopsy.
Confrontation
Relacion's death was first discovered by Jessiel Sajot, 24, the office secretary, and Merdiza Baruel, 35, a medical representative who arrived around 8:30 a.m. to report for work.
Sajot and Baruel told Dacua that last Tuesday, Martin and Cababan met for the first time at the apartment.
Relacion was not around when the two met because she was still in Bacolod City, reportedly escorting some actors.
Dacua told reporters that there was no argument between the two men and Cababan left around 2 p.m.
Relacion arrived Tuesday night.
Dacua said Sajot told him that she, Relacion and Martin were left in the apartment. Sajot, however, later left to sleep in the house of her relative in Lapu-Lapu City.
Martin was nowhere to be found when Relacion's body was discovered Wednesday morning.
Suspect
With the information they have gathered so far, Dacua said they now consider Martin as the primary suspect in the killing.
Dacua pointed out, though, that they are also considering Jojo as a suspect.
Rona Laylo, human resources department officer of Star Records main office, in an interview over radio dyAB Cebu, said Relacion was on vacation leave and was expected to report back to work after Holy Week.
She started working for Star Records in 1996.
(March 24, 2005 issue)
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