Two elderly ‘strangled’ to death in Oton

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

Two elderly were found dead late morning of Dec 26 in Oton, Iloilo.

Police have yet to confirm the identities of the two victims, but it was believed that the male was in his 70s while the woman could be around 60 years old.

Their bodies were discovered in a house owned by Royce Fantilanan who rented it to a certain Jessie.

The latter allegedly paid his rental fees for the months of November and December.

Neighbors claimed that they have not seen the actual occupants of the house until the incident happened.

A boy allegedly passed by the area around 11:20 a.m. and saw the man’s body slumped on the porch, some 20 meters away from the gate.

The boy reported his find to barangay tanod Rafael Patches who checked on the house.

The gate was open, and Patches immediately saw the two cadavers. The woman’s body was found inside a room.

He reported it to the village officials who called in the Oton police.

Neighbors claimed they did not hear any sound prior to the discovery of the cadavers.

However, they saw a white van and a motorcycle coming out of the property evening of December 25.

 

PROBE

Based on the post-mortem examination conducted by Dr. Mary Jane Nismal, both victims died from strangulation.

They also suffered scratches on their body. They may have been dead for 8-12 hours already.

Lieutenant Larry John Vidal, Oton police chief, said they found seven identification cards that could have been owned by the man.

These cards are under the name Antonio Cabanatan from Panay, Capiz and Pastor S. Macatimbag with addresses in Samar and Cebu.

Vidal said they immediately contacted the local police in the area to check on the identity of the names in the ID cards.

He said the duo’s neighbors even thought that nobody actually lives in Fantilanan’s house.

Nobody has called or appeared at the police station to check if the cadavers are that of their loved ones.