Police rule out foul play in American national’s death in Cagayan de Oro

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY –– Authorities on Monday ruled out foul play in the death of an American national inside his house here Sunday night.

Bryan Richard Roche, 59, a divorcee native of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, was found dead by his Filipina partner at 10:42 p.m. on Sunday, September 15.

City police spokesperson Major Evan Viñas said Roche, a retired U.S. Army soldier, who arrived here about two years ago, was “already lifeless” when his Filipina partner Lani Manzano, 49, checked on him inside their rented apartment in Barangay Camaman-an here.

Viñas said Roche, who relied only on his pension for his daily needs here, was left inside the house alone on Sunday as Manzano was out of the house for hours before she found the foreigner dead in his room.

“She must have been gone for hours and when she came back, she found Roche already dead,” Viñas said, referring to Manzano.

Roche had been briefly detained at a local police station on June 6 this year for grave threats filed by a neighbor but the complaint was later dropped.

Senior Master Sergeant Neil Apollo delas Alas, the investigator, said the American had earlier been confined at the Maria Reyna Xavier University Hospital, where he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas, and hypertensive urgency.

Viñas said the victim insisted on going out of the hospital against the doctor’s advice on Sept. 15.

He said Roche signed a waiver and was released on Sunday afternoon.

“He told his partner he would rather stay at home than at the hospital,” Viñas said.

The American Embassy in Manila had been informed of Roche’s death.