Man found dead at family’s Manila North mausoleum

Was it a murder or a suicide?

A 52-year-old man was found dead—his abdomen slashed and with a nine-inch jungle knife placed next to his body—early yesterday morning inside his family mausoleum at Manila North Cemetery.

The body of Amando Capco of Dayang-Dayang Street, Maharlika Subdivision, Taytay, Rizal, was discovered by a group of children living in the cemetery, which the polio-stricken man reportedly often visited prior to his death.

SPO2 Virgo Villareal of the Manila Police District (MPD) homicide section said that based on witnesses’ accounts, Capco spent Friday night inside the mausoleum, which kept the remains of his mother Pasencia, an aunt and a sibling.

“People in the cemetery usually saw him staying and drinking at his family mausoleum whenever he had problems at home,” Villareal said.

Investigators were still trying to establish whether Capco committed suicide or was killed.

Villareal noted that there were no immediate signs of foul play, like blood marks on the walls or “defense wounds” on Capco’s arms.

“But it is still possible that he was attacked while he was sleeping,” the investigator said.

Also recovered from the mausoleum were Capco’s crutches and pieces of carton which he apparently used as sleeping mats. The jungle knife found next to the body had the letters “BS” carved on it.