‘Threat to have boyfriend deported could have triggered attack’

CEBU fashion designer Joy Bernaldez had threatened to file charges against her  partner Joseph Cardona and to have him deported for injuring  her a few weeks ago.

Police said that Bernaldez’s threats must have angered Cardona, whom police confirmed was a  Maltese national and not an Australian as earlier reported.

The threat to deport him  could have led to the  Dec. 17 fatal attack on the fashion designer, said Insp. Ramil Morpos, deputy chief of Investigation Detection and Management Branch (IDMB) of the Mandaue city police.

Cardona’s nationality was confirmed by immigration records and his passport, which was issued by the Republic of Malta on July 15, 2004.

A  photocopy of Cardona’s passport was given by Bernaldez’s relatives.

Cardona’s body remained unclaimed yesterday at the Rolling Hills funeral homes but his relatives in Australia are reportedly coming to Cebu.

Cardona shot dead the designer last Saturday after an argument before turning the gun on himself. The couple met in Australia about two years ago and were living together in Bernaldez’s residence at the time of the killing.

On Nov. 27, Bernaldez went to  the Mandaue City Hospital and secured a medical certificate for injuries that Cardona allegedly inflicted on her.  It said she had swollen soft tissues behind her right ear due to mauling and was advised to undergo a CT scan but she refused.

The police are also checking the origin of  the .22-caliber revolver Cardona used in the shootings.  /Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos