Wife of Cebu ‘drug lord’ found buried in La Carlota

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

 

BACOLOD City – The wife of Cebu’s alleged drug lord Jenifer Mercader was found buried in a sugarcane field at Barangay San Miguel, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental last Wednesday.

The remains of Juliet Mercader, 26, a native of Cebu, were dug up two days after her husband was killed in a police shootout in Murcia town on Sept 28, 2020.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonel Guadalupe, La Carlota City police chief, said Juliet was identified by her family’s friend yesterday.

On Sept 30, a farm worker noticed a pit in the area while they were harvesting sugarcane around 8:34 am.

The worker reported the pit to barangay officials, prompting the latter to ask assistance from the police. They later discovered the naked body of Juliet.

She suffered a gunshot wound in the head and another injury in the forehead caused by a hard object, Guadalupe said.

They also recovered the victim’s clothes and wristwatch.

He said the victim may have been sexually molested and was probably left in the area since she’s not a resident of the city.

He said Juliet was subjected to a post-mortem examination and her remains will be transported to Cebu upon request of her family.

He said they don’t have persons of interest in the meantime, but they saw many footprints at the crime scene, indicating that more than one or two persons committed the crime.

He said they are not discounting the possibility that it could also be a case of robbery, although the victim’s wristwatch was still in the area.

“We don’t know if she had other missing valuables,” he added.

He said they are still probing if the killing has something to do with her husband’s death.

Jenifer, who was tagged as a “drug king pin” in Cebu, was neutralized after he allegedly resisted authorities in a manhunt operation.

He was a former barangay captain of Lugo village, who escaped from Medellin District Jail in Cebu province last year, and a self-confessed killer, who admitted to killing a police officer in Cebu.

Meanwhile, a man was also found dead at Sitio Bayongbong, Barangay Bandila, Toboso town last Wednesday.

Police identified the fatality as Rodel Rosal, 38, of Barangay Tabun-ac.

The victim sustained gunshot wounds on the different parts of his body, based on a police report.

His remains were brought to Toboso Municipal Health Office to be subjected for post-mortem examination.