By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle
Two Boholanas were strangled to death before their bodies were chopped up and dumped in different places in Minglanilla and Talisay City, Cebu.
The gruesome murders were discovered yesterday, a day after victims Ma. Mae Peligro, 24, and her cousin Gwendolyn Balasta, 26, both from Poblacion, Pilar town were reported missing and after some of their body parts, packed in at least 13 separate black garbage bags, were found dumped in Minglanilla and Talisay, Cebu.
The suspects were later arrested yesterday at around 1 p.m. by police and identified as Richard Gudelosao, 27; his live-in partner Jean Antonette Medalle, 26, of Maracas, Lahug, Cebu City; and the couple's helper Jojo De Los Reyes, 23, a native of Cogon, Ozamis City.
According to police investigators, Gudelosao, a taxi owner-driver, was fed up by intrigues relayed to his brother and mother who are working abroad and allegedly strangled and chopped up his brother's girlfriend Peligro and the woman's cousin Balasta inside the house they shared in a subdivision in Barangay (village) Maghaway, Talisay City, Cebu on Thursday.
SInsp. Romeo Santander, police chief of Minglanilla, said the victims were living at Azienda Firenze in Maghaway.
Information pieced together by the police showed that Gudelosao separately strangled to death the two women around 3 p.m. Thursday, chopped up their bodies on the night of same day and placed them inside garbage bags, loaded the body parts on his taxi and, together with De Los Reyes, dumped the chopped body parts in ravines and isolated areas in Minglanilla.
Gudelosao had reportedly been at odds with Peligro since the latter started living in the Azienda Firenze house in September last year. Peligro was the fiancée of Gudelosao's younger brother Felix, the owner of the house, who is working in United States. Balasta joined Peligro early this year as the former's personal help.
Gudelosao was reportedly enraged with Peligro because she had been feeding his brother and their US-immigrant mother Adelita with wrong information, including allegations that he was using drugs, and even uploading in the Internet photos of a messy house and of unwashed plates left on the table.
Gudelosao apparently snapped after his mother decided to cut off his allowance last month and after his brother, only last week, ordered him out of the house, Santander said.
Santander said the sister of Peligro, identified as Grace Ybañez, who is married and lives in Cebu City, reported to the police on Friday evening that her sister and Gwendolyn were missing.
After learning from Grace that the missing women were occupying the same house with a man they had been at odds with, policemen went to the Gudelosao house but found that no one was around. The police then asked the subdivision guard to hold Richard or anyone driving his taxicab at the gate until the police arrived, Santander said.
Santander said that when the guard called him shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday about having a couple on board a taxi being held at the gate of the subdivision, he and his men immediately fetched the couple and invited them to the police station.
Santander said they also invited De Los Reyes, who is a friend, neighbor, and helper of Richard.
He said it was De Los Reyes who first confessed his involvement in the crime but insisted he just assisted Richard who, he claimed, was the one who separately strangled the two women to death inside the Gudelosao house at 3 p.m. on Thursday. He also claimed it was Richard who chopped their bodies in the bathroom and this lasted for two hours, Santander said.
Santander said De los Reyes also confessed he helped Gudelosao dispose of the bodies.
Santander said Medalle also later confessed to cleaning up the bathroom where Richard chopped up the bodies but she insisted she only did it because she was scared that Richard would kill her too if she refused.
But Santander said Medalle was also part of the murder as she even sat on the bag containing the knife used in chopping up the two women.
Santander said the three would be charged with double murder tomorrow.
Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=14116.0
