‘Sleep’ proved no excuse for Tondo man who killed cousin

The police arrested a man for stabbing his female cousin dead at their house in the slums of Tondo, Manila, early Friday morning.

They said the suspect, Ernesto Odiaman, was “sleeping” one meter away from the victim’s body when they found them both in a disarrayed room at the house on Alianan Street.

When finally roused awake, Odiaman at first denied killing April Mae Odiaman, claiming he was also attacked and knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

He also showed the scratches on his arms and bloodstains on his shirt to back up his story.

Belied by medical exam

Investigators did not buy it, however, and had Odiaman detained to face murder charges. A medical exam on the man also did not support his claim that he was bashed in the head.

According to Odiaman’s aunt, Espenita, she found April Mae with several stab wounds in the neck and her nephew asleep next to the victim around 7 a.m. Friday. Espenita said she tried to wake up Odiaman but he “refused to get up.”

It took the responding policemen to finally get Odiaman on his feet.

Rape attempt seen

Odiaman finally admitted the crime later in the day, according to PO3 Amelito Lopez of the Manila Police District’s homicide section.

Quoting the suspect, Lopez said Odiaman decided not to flee after killing April Mae because “his conscience bothered him.”

“He also said he used ‘shabu’ occasionally and that he only pretended to be asleep,” the officer told the Inquirer.

Odiaman’s other relatives also told the police they earlier heard him and April Mae quarrelling before the crime was discovered.

Lopez said investigators were looking into possibility that Odiaman tried to rape his cousin before stabbing her with a kitchen knife five times.