Shoplifting suspect did not die of natural causes

The 23-year-old man who was suspected of shoplifting in a mall in downtown, Cebu City two weeks ago and died while in the custody of mall security did not die a natural death.

Based on the autopsy report of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI), Mario Alfie Ducayag died last April 12 due to “traumatic neck injuries.”

The young father of two also had a collapsed left lung, as well as bruises in the palms, right shoulder, back, and chest.

“Gili-ad siya. (He was hyperextended). In effect, two of the seven cervical vertebra on her nape were dislocated,” NBI medico-legal officer Rene Cam told reporters after conducting the two-hour post-mortem examination of Ducayag’s remains at the St. Francis Funeral Homes along Natalio Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City yesterday afternoon.

Cebu Daily News caught a glimpse on the upper portion of Ducayag’s back which had red and black colored bruises.

“The lungs may appear normal but they can bleed. Blood then interferes in the airway passage which can suffocate the person,” Cam explained.

Cam and former NBI medico-legal officer Gil Macato were asked to re-examine Ducayag’s body as his family doubted the initial autopsy results conducted by police forensic examiners.

No health problems

Dr. Nestor Sator, medico-legal officer of the Philippine National Police, who initially conducted the autopsy, concluded that “asphyxia due to pulmonary tuberculosis” was the cause of Ducayag’s death.

He did not rule out the possibility of foul play.

Ducayag’s family doubted the results because the young man had no health problems.

Results of the second autopsy have raised doubt about the role of the security guards and a company nurse. Mauricio Doblados Jr., the mall’s chief security officer; security guards Jeffrey Aquino, Melvin Boyles, Margie Gaser, and a certain Lerio and the company nurse were reportedly suspended after the incident.

Two other security guards detailed outside the investigation room as well as the closed-circuit security camera operator are being investigated.

Ducayag’s mother Fe Soledad, a widow, thanked the NBI.

“Hinaut pa unta mahatagan mi og hustisya. Gusto namo makita ang tinuod nga nahitabo. Sayud mo sa akong pag-antus. Sa akong pagkainahan, sayod ko sa akong anak. (I hope justice will be served. We want to find out the truth. You know what I’m going through. I’m a mother. I know my son more than anyone else),” she told reporters.

House-keeping

Fe Soledad, who works as a housemaid, said her son will be laid to rest at the Naga City Cemetery on Sunday.

She said she hopes those who killed her son are bothered by their conscience.

The victim was Fe Soledad’s third of four children. Her husband died five years ago.

Ducayag started taking up a housekeeping course last February in an accredited training center in Cebu City. He had no criminal records.

He separated from his live-in partner last year. Their two children remain with him , said his eldest sibling Marie Shantylle.

On the day her brother died, she said Ducayag was processing documents for internship in a restaurant in Lapu-Lapu City and was excited about his on the job training.

She said her brother dropped by the mall to buy diapers, biscuits, and milk for the children.

Based on the reports, she said, her brother was on his way out of the mall when a female security guard stopped him.

Marie Shantylle said her brother brought a pair of sandals but lost the receipt. The sandals were in in a mall plastic bag.

She said three mall representatives went to the vigil wake at their home in Naga and offered monetary assistance which they refused to accept.

“We told them what we need is justice,” Marie Shantylle said.

NBI Agent Bernard dela Cruz said a mall cashier confirmed that Ducayag had paid for the sandals only that the receipt was lost.

Dela Cruz said the NBI is looking for other witnesses and will file homicide charges.

“Whether or not there was any shoplifting, it is not right to maul the person,” he said.

Security personnel claimed that Ducayag had a seizure and collapsed while being interrogated in the room on April 12.

Paramedics were called in and brought Ducayag to the Cebu City Medical Center where he died. .

“Apparently, ginulpi muna. (It appears he was mauled first),” said Dela Cruz after he saw the bruises on Ducayag’s body.