Coworkers name persons of interest in death of caddie

Two coworkers of a 19-year-old female caddie who died allegedly following a bad fall on a golf course in Antipolo City, Rizal, are being considered by the police as persons of interest.

Based on a report to Antipolo police chief Supt. Serafin Petalio, Princess Jen Parilla, a caddie at Valley Golf and Country Club in Barangay dela Paz, fell from a moving golf cart at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 10.

At that time, she was with two other caddies, one of them her superior. They took her to East Medical Center in Taytay and told the nurse that the fall was accidental.

Parilla, who suffered bruises all over her body, was unconscious when she was taken to the hospital. She lapsed into a coma the following day before dying on Oct. 12.

But before she did, she woke up but seemed to have lost her sense of vision. She could only hear but not talk. Through hand gestures, she told her family that someone had touched her inappropriately, choked her, and hit her head against the floor.

Police gets involved

This prompted her mother, Emma, to go to the police station on Oct. 11 to ask for help, according to PO1 Angellie Cruzada of the Antipolo police women and children’s protection unit. Emma also expressed fear her daughter could have been raped.

Cruzada said that at the time the victim supposedly fell from the golf cart, there were no witnesses except for her two coworkers since all players had left because of a downpour. The golf course has no closed-circuit television cameras.

Jinboy Afable, the victim’s live-in partner, told the police that a week before she died, Parilla had lost interest in going to work. She did not say why, but she mentioned that an “older” man had shown interest in her.

Forced to work

“She was forced to go to work that day because someone whom she called sir called her up,” Afable said.

Parilla, her partner said, was an in-demand caddie and earned nearly P1,000 a day, including tips.

The police did not name the persons of interest pending the results of the autopsy report. They added, however, that the men in question have been cooperating with investigators.

“We will know from the report if the victim was indeed raped,” Cruzada said. The results will also determine whether a case should be filed against any suspect.

Parilla left two children, the youngest being 2 years old. She has yet to be buried because the police are still waiting for the autopsy results, Cruzada added. Afable, meanwhile, has appealed for help in shouldering the funeral expenses.

The Inquirer tried to reach the golf club for comment but was informed by the phone operator that offices were closed on Sundays and Mondays.