Bullet through the heart for both lovers

AUTOPSY results confirmed that a single gunshot through the heart killed Mabini barangay captian Rey Oybenes.

That was also the way Cebu City Hall employee Rohama Luage, with whom he had a five-year affair, was killed.

The woman was shot at close range based on gun powder burns in her chest wound. The bullet’s path had a downward trajectory. The bullet was lodged in her backbone, said police.

She also had bruises in both upper arms, which indicated she was held tightly before she was killed, said Dr. Nestor Sator, Philippine National Police (PNP) medico-legal officer.

Whether or not both shootings were done by the same .45 caliber pistol found on Oybenes lap, when his bloodied body was retrieved from his locked government-issued Toyota Hilux pickup in Talamban, Cebu city last Thursday, will be known when results of ballistics tests are available tomorrow.

Police are investigating both deaths which they described as a crime of passion and suicide.

The woman had decided to end their relationship when they were both seen leaving her residence on board the Toyota Hilux Thursday morning.

Luage’s body was later found dumped over a cliff by the Transcentral Highway in Balamban town in the afternoon.

A man in a red shirt fitting Oybenes’ description was seen throwing the body and hurriedly driving away on a Toyota Hilux. He was later found slumped dead in his truck with the engine still running.

The casket of Luage was  was placed in a crematorium at the St. Peter Memorial Chapel at 9 a.m yesterday.

The waiting area was filled mostly by Luage’s officemates in the Division of the Welfare for the Urban Poor (DWUP).

Oybenes’ autopsy showed that a bullet hit his heart and exited through his back.

The likelihood of suicide was bolstered by the discovery of gun powder burns at the entrance of the chest wound.

“The location of the wound is accessible to Oybenes. There is also only one gunshot wound and a firearm was recovered from him (Oybenes),” Sator said.

Luage’s co-workers said she had received threatening text messages and calls from the barangay captain ever since she broke up with him in January to lead a more peaceful life.

The two had dinner two days before the tragedy where Luage was given roses and a note that said “I love you. Goodbye.”  Police said that based on accounts of colleagues and friends, the barangay captain, who is married, had tried to win her back, when the violence occured.At the crematorium, Luage’s 14-year-old daughter wore a black dress. Her 8-year-old brother played with a cousin. They are now ni the care of close relatives.

Luage’s parents were expected to arrive earlier this dawn from Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. Luage is the fifth of nine children.

She became a widow six years ago when her husband, a policeman, was shot in the line of duty in Cebu City.

She secured an insurance life plan in St. Peter Memorial Chapel one year ago.

The families of both Luage and her late husband PO1 Noriel Luage have yet to decide if she would be buried in Cebu City or back home in Pagadian City. Correspondents Joy Cherry Quito, Chito Aragon and Michelle Joy Padayhag