In the morning, she had clothes and personal belongings of her estranged live-in partner taken out of the house in Mandaue City.
By evening, Cebu fashion designer Joy Bernaldez, 52, was dead from a gunshot wound in the head fired by Australian national Joseph Cardona, who was waiting for her at home.
Cardona, 53, later used the .22 caliber pistol to shoot himself in the mouth. His body was found slumped in the garage in 13th Street, Agro Macro Subdivision in barangay Cabangcalan.
Police said the double shootings took place past 6 p.m. after Bernaldez came home from her boutique in Cebu City.
Five witnesses, including the family driver, were questioned by the police, who said the couple were arguing over personal matters and were in the middle of a breakup.
Police said all accounts point to a murder and suicide, but that Cardona’s body would still be subjected to an autopsy and paraffin tests.
The two had met two years ago in Australia, where Bernaldez had moved with her family before deciding to return to Cebu.
In her personal blog zippersandrivets, Bernaldez wrote daily about her rekindled relationship with God, which had started three years ago.
Her last entry, written Dec. 17, the day of her murder, was titled “Redemption”.
She wrote: “four. that’s the number of relationship breakdowns i’ve experienced this year with people i trusted – two of them occurring in the last three months.
“I kept poring over God’s purpose in it all.
if it is all about proving and reassuring, He is all-knowing, so why bother?”
Bernaldez built a career designing wedding gowns and ready-to-wear clothes, and specialized in hand painted creations on delicate “jusi” fabric.
She owned J Berns Exclusives, a company she put up when she was 19 years old and continued in Melbourne, Australia.
She also founded Clothes for Life Foundation, composed of Cebu fashion designers, stylists, fashion organizers and models who did charity work for the cause of battered women and the elderly.
Her violent death was a shock in fashion circles here and Manila. (See separate story).
Bernaldez’s marriage to Cebu businessman Jojo Climaco was annulled several years ago. Cardona was divorced from his wife in Australia.
The couple’s relationship took a turn for the worse two weeks ago, said Inspector Ramil Morpos, deputy chief of the investigation office of the Mandaue City police.
Bernaldez had reported to a police officer that her Australian partner had slammed her head against the concrete wall of the house. She went to the Mandaue City District Hospital for a medical certificate for her injury but no charges were filed.
After that incident, the couple no longer slept in the same room.
Cardona, who worked as a carpenter in Australia, moved to a guest room and would sleep there or the pension house of Bernaldez in the J.Berns building in Escario Street, Cebu City.
He was described as a silent type and a loner.
Police learned from the family driver, Jimmy Armonio, that the Australian, out of jealousy, would get angry when Bernaldez would come home late at night. He would probe the driver about the places where she had gone.
The driver and a maid were the ones who transferred Cardona’s clothes and personal belongings yesterday morning to the pension house.
The Bernaldez family, in a statement, declined to issue any comment and asked for privacy.
“Our family is very grateful to everyone who’s sent us messages of condolence and we’d like to thank those who’ve offered their services and assistance to help ease our pain at this very difficult time.
“We would like to request for the community’s kind understanding and respect for our wishes of privacy as we grieve and try to come to terms with the loss of our beloved mother. We are in full cooperation with the authorities and have provided them with our statements. We will continue to work with them as they continue to bring closure to this matter,” the statement said.
The vigil wake for Bernaldez is being held at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Nivel Hills, Cebu City. The funeral is set for Friday, Dec. 23. /Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos with a report by Edison delos Angeles