QC police tag teen in slay of fellow maid

Police investigators are looking into the possible involvement of a minor in the killing of a housemaid whose body was found in the basement of her employer’s house in Quezon City on Sunday.

Senior Insp. Elmer Monsalve, head of the Quezon City Police District’s homicide division, told the Inquirer on Wednesday that they were trying to determine the whereabouts of the 16-year-old girl, also a housemaid, who left a day before the victim’s body was discovered.

Analiza Garde, 44, was found dead with multiple stab wounds under a sink in the basement of her employer’s house on Paris Street, Capitol Homes in Barangay Old Balara on Sunday.

The police started looking into the angle of robbery with homicide after they found Garde’s wallet, which had been emptied of its contents, in one of the trash bins in the house.

They also found her iPod and cell phone, which had been given to her by her employer, along with other personal belongings. The items were all placed in a bag found in a spot which investigators believed would make it easy for someone to bring it out of the house.

Last person with victim

Monsalve said the investigation so far pointed to the 16-year-old maid as the primary person of interest. She was also the last person seen with Garde before the victim turned up dead. Both housemaids slept in the basement.

Case records showed that Garde suffered several hack and stab wounds on the face, neck and torso. Her wrists were broken as though they had been hit by a blunt object.

“These were defense wounds, meaning she was [still conscious] when stabbed and she was fighting for her life,” Monsalve added.

Bloodstained bolo

Garde’s body was found after her employers went looking for dog food in the basement around 11:45 a.m. Sunday. They noticed bloodstains on bedsheets and pillows under the sink.

Monsalve said investigators also discovered a blood-stained bolo at the victim’s quarters, wrapped and hidden in her clothes.

According to the police, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, the 16-year-old maid told her employer that she was going home to Negros Occidental province for health reasons. She left the house with a man who claimed to be her brother.

“But prior to that, she even asked for money to go to the market, which she did,” Monsalve said.

Asked by her employer about Garde’s whereabouts, the minor said that the older maid had left the night before with her belongings.

From same province

Members of the household told the police that the victim had been their maid for nine years, while the 16-year-old started working for them six weeks ago. She was referred to them by Garde who got to know her through a mutual friend.

Both the teenager and the victim were from the same barangay in Negros Occidental although they did not know each other personally, Monsalve said.