MetroBriefs

Teenager beaten to death by other teens

A teenage high-school student met his bloody end after three youths ganged up on him and beat him to death on Sunday night in Quezon City. Earl Bryan Gealon, 15, died on the spot at 9:26 p.m. near the TMS Dialysis Center on Regalado Avenue in Barangay (village) Fairview. Chief Inspector Elmer Monsalve, homicide chief of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said three unidentified youths were reportedly behind the mauling.

Gealon, a third-year high-school student and resident of West Fairview, was seen talking on his cell phone in the area just moments before he was killed. A security guard, Eduardo Noces, told investigators that he saw three teenagers boys cross the street and approach the victim. Without warning, they surrounded Gealon and began beating him up for no reason. But instead of stepping in, the guard went to the barangay hall to report the mauling. When they went back to the scene, they found the victim sprawled lifeless on the ground with his attackers nowhere in sight.

Police described the three boys as sporting shaved heads with various designs. Two wore white T-shirts and short pants while the third wore a black T-shirt. Monsalve said he suspected that the three teenagers were members of a street gang in the area.—Julie M. Aurelio

Woman dies on chair in front of hotel

The body of an ailing 47-year-old woman was found on Sunday evening seated in front of a hotel in Manila she allegedly frequently checked into. When discovered, Cecilia Ramirez, a resident of Pasig City, was already dead. She was seated on a chair outside the Spring Hotel at the corner of Rizal Avenue and Doroteo Jose Street in Sta. Cruz. Police Officer 3 Alonzo Layugan of the Manila Police District homicide section, said that the body was found at around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday after one of the hotel staff noticed that Ramirez had not moved since she sat down.

Layugan told the Inquirer that an hour before the discovery, Ramirez alighted from a taxi and sat on a chair leaning against an electrical post, in front of the hotel. The case investigator said that initially, hotel employees thought she had dozed off but later discovered that she was no longer breathing and reported their find to the police. Layugan revealed that residents in the area claimed that the victim worked as a guest relations officer at a bar and that she frequently checked in at the hotel. “She may have been sick and died of natural causes, probably a heart attack,” he said although he stressed that an autopsy would have to be conducted on the body to determine the specific cause of death. Found in her possession were several medical prescriptions.—Jeannette I. Andrade

Quick responders arrest killer

A driver who had allegedly gunned down an auto mechanic in Pasig City was immediately arrested by policemen who happened to be passing by the area. Antonio Arceo, 52, a resident of Barangay (village) San Miguel, Pasig City, died on the spot after he was shot in the head and in the back, Senior Superintendent Alfredo Calama-an, deputy head of the Pasig police, said. His alleged attacker, Leonardo Concepcion, a driver residing in Tondo, Manila, was arrested by patrolling members of the Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives on Mercedes Avenue in Barangay San Miguel at 4:40 p.m. Sunday.—Niña Calleja