BAGUIO CITY – A local businesswoman died after she was shot to death by her own husband before the latter allegedly shot himself inside their residence for still unknown reasons at Purok 8 Pinsao Pilot Project here
Saturday night.
Senior Superintendent Rolando F. Miranda, officer-in-charge of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) identified the fatalities as Judeth Pagat-o Sawi, a local businesswoman and her husband Harry Sawi, both residents of Pinsao Pilot Project, Baguio City.
Initial police investigation showed that the 13-year old son of the couple could not open the main door of their house that is why he sought the assistance of his grandfather who bore a hole on the roof and ceiling of their residence just for him to get inside and see what happened inside their house Sunday morning.
To his surprise, the young boy found his parents sprawled bloodied inside their room with their 1-year old child playing with their blood.
He immediately told his grandfather about what he saw and they reported the matter to the police who came to the crime scene to conduct an investigation.
Elements of the Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) team found that the parricide victims sustained lone gunshot wounds on their respective heads. The point of bullet on Judeth’s head was from the right side and exited on the left side while the point of entry of the bullet on Harry’s head was on the left side and exited on the right side.
Probers theorized that Harry might have first shot Judeth on his head before poking the gun on his head and squeezing the trigger that lead to their instantaneous death.
Responding police operatives recovered from the crime scene two spent shells of a caliber .45 pistol and the same firearm used in the shooting incident which was subjected to ballistic tests while the victim were also subjected to paraffin tests aside from undergoing the usual autopsy.
Police investigators are still facing a blankwall on the real motive behind the brutal murder of the couple considering that some of the neighbors reported heard several gunshots at the time the incident might have occurred but some of them informed probers that there was no unusual happening inside the house of the victims at that time of the occurrence of the crime.
The 13-year old son of the couple was brought to the city social welfare and development office for the conduct of appropriate counseling because of the trauma that he might have experienced after seeing what happened to their parents.
Investigation is still underway to ascertain whether or not there was foul play in the occurrence of the said incident inside the house of the couple.
By Dexter A. See
