Money lender found dead in his Manila apartment

A man who ran a money-lending business was found dead inside his home in Sta. Ana, Manila, Wednesday morning by a neighbor and two of his clients who decided to pay him a visit because he hadn’t been answering their calls for two days.

Police said 55-year-old Juan Crisologo was found naked on the floor face up and in a pool of blood inside his second-floor apartment on Tupaz Street by his neighbor Jimmy Bello.

Two female visitors earlier knocked on Crisologo’s door but he failed to answer. They then sought assistance from Bello who had to use a ladder to climb and look into the victim’s window.

Senior Police Officer 1 Jonathan Bautista of the Manila Police District’s homicide section said the victim had a deep wound about two and a half inches long on the back of his head, possibly caused by a sharp object. But investigators have not discounted the possibility that he suffered a heart attack and had a bad fall that proved fatal.

According to the neighbors, Crisologo was last seen alive on Monday and that he frequently had teenagers as guests at his apartment, Bautista added.

Bautista lent out money and would require borrowers to leave their automated teller machine (ATM) cards with him as collateral, the officer said.