Reynaldo’s ma: ‘I pity my son; his neck is almost cut’

Forensic experts conduct a post mortem analysis on the body of 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzman at the PAO laboratory. INQUIRER.net / Tetch Torres-Tupas

Sitting quietly, fidgeting with her shawl from time to time, looking and timidly smiling at the few people in the room, intermittently oblivious.

Such has been the state of Lina Gabriel de Guzman since his 14-year-old boy went missing last August 18 and even more so after Reynaldo was found floating in a river in Nueva Ecija with his body riddled with stab wounds and his face wrapped in cloth and packaging  tape on Wednesday morning.

“I am not well,” Lina declared when asked how she was feeling, as forensic experts examine Reynaldo’s body on Thursday at the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Forensic Laboratory in Quezon City. She said she had not had any decent sleep for weeks now.

Lina would occasionally cough and murmur to herself, “Kawawa naman anak ko. Halos putulin na leeg nya (I pity my son. His neck is almost cut).”

“Mabait yung anak ko. Walang kamuwang-muwang. Nalulungkot ako wala na pinakamamahal kong anak (My child was a good kid. He is innocent. I am sad because my most beloved son is gone,” she lamented.

Lina denied that her son and 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz planned to commit a robbery on the night they disappeared. She said she only learned on television about such story.

One of Lina’s companions, who declined to be named, said Lina has not cried since she saw her son at a funeral home in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.

“She was sometimes staring into space, sometimes hysterical or asking where her son was,” Lina’s companion said.

PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said they are set to refer Lina to their Forensic Psychiatrist because she appears to be possibly suffering from post-traumatic stress.

“Hindi na po babalik ang anak ko. Kaya gusto ko po hustisya (My son will no longer come back. So, I want justice),” asserted Lina, as she buried her face with her scarf. KGA

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