Man found dead atop coconut tree
ANTIPAS, North Cotabato, Philippines—A 57-year-old farmer missing for five days was found atop a coconut tree here on Thursday, dead and bound to the base of some fronds, police reported Friday.
Inspector Felix Fornan, the local police chief, said the body of Raymundo Castillo bore stab wounds on the chest, indicating he may have committed suicide as investigators found no signs of foul play.
Nonetheless, he added, an investigation was continuing to ascertain the circumstances around the farmer’s death.
Fornan said Castillo’s relatives told police the farmer had shown signs of depression before he went missing on November 23.
Investigators found a bloodied knife at the foot of the coconut tree, some 50 meters from the man’s hut in the village of Dolores.
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