Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Police pursue other angles in killing of Swede, his familyBy Mia E. Abellana
CEBU CITY -- Alfonso Melker Viksten and his wife Maria Serenita would have celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary.
Instead, they were found dead in separate areas of their 14-hectare property in Sitio Catap, Barangay Banlot, Sibonga at dawn Sunday while their children, five-year-old Serena Alfeda and two-year-old Johannes Alf, were found charred in the second floor of their house.
News of their death made it to the front pages of at least four Swedish dailies on Monday. A Swedish news team is also in Cebu to follow the progress of the investigation.
Senior Inspector Noli Cernio, Sibonga Police Chief, admitted they were still looking at other angles such as a land dispute, family issues and Alfonso's lending business.
He said Alfonso lent money to some people with land titles as collateral. Cernio is reviewing all the records that he recovered to see if it has any connection with the case.
No witnesses
Though it seemed there were no witnesses to the crime, Cernio said he had a good feeling they were close to solving the case.
He could not say further what else they were working on, only that those behind it were still in town and numbered four to five.
Firemen from the Sibonga Police Station said there were indications those responsible for the crime used flammable liquids.
Cernio also believes Alfonso struggled with his attackers because his slippers, glasses with broken lenses and a false tooth were found in different areas in the garage.
His attackers also took pains to hide him, as he was found under a pile of rubble.
Cernio said that if weren't for the flies, they would not have found his charred remains under a pile of burnt galvanized iron sheets.
Also burned were a pick-up, generator and mini-tractor. A dog was also among the remains found in the fire scene.
Serenita, for her part, was found inside a small room where the power controls were built. Outside the door to the room was where spent shells of a .22 revolver were found.
The two children were in a bedroom on the second floor.
Sibonga Fire Marshal SFO2 Roman Sereño Jr. said Serena seemed to be crawling towards the door while her brother was asleep in the bed.
Still inside
Sereño said that when they received the report at 4 a.m. Sunday, they had no idea the family was still inside.
They had to break down the gate to the estate and then break the glass doors inside the house after they were told that the family was still inside.
The Sibonga Fire Station placed damage at P700,000, but said this was only the structural damage and did not include the other appliances and properties inside.
The Vikstens liked being alone in the property. There were no house helpers there and the children were left to play around on their own without a nanny to look after them.
However, a surveillance camera was reportedly placed around the property and he could see if anyone tried to enter the property.
The Vikstens lie in state at the house of Serenita's parents in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City.
Retired Senior Inspector Felipe Baring, Serenita's father, said Serenita met Alfonso through a classmate who also married a Swede.
They got married on June 21, 2002 and shortly after, acquired the Sibonga property in 2003.
Neil Cabonilla, one of Viksten's workers, said the family kept to themselves but he did not know if they had any enemies in the village.
He added that Alfonso was kind to the villagers, inviting them to a Christmas party in the estate.
Alfonso also returned to Sweden each year to check on his business. He was a contractor for janitorial services there.
Baring told reporters that one of Alfonso's daughters from his previous marriage called them up and asked them to take care of their father's funeral.
They said it was okay to have him buried in the Philippines and that they only requested that the Barings send them a video of the funeral rites.
Baring added that he also received a call from the Swedish consulate asking them about the details so they could inform Alfonso's family.
They were surprised to hear reports that Alfonso was a retired member of the Swedish army, saying his business was a contractor for janitorial services.
Mats Larssom, correspondent for the Express-en, a Swedish newspaper, and his photographer flew in from Beijing Monday night after news of the Viksten's killing broke.
He said the story made the headlines because of the way the crime was committed to a fellow citizen.
"If something like this happens, it's big news," he explained.
He said the Philippines was not a country where most Swedish tourists come to and they had to close the Swedish embassy in Manila early this year and left a consulate office to cut costs.
The incident also shook the people of Sibonga, as it was reportedly the "biggest, sensational heinous crime" to hit the town.
Cernio said Mayor Leonilo Bacaltos is offering an undisclosed amount to reward whoever can provide information on the killers. (Sun.Star Cebu)
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