Cebu City.
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City police are investigating whether the death of an 18-year-old mother inside their house in Cebu City on New Year’s Eve was a case of suicide or foul play.
Angela Arcilla, who lived with her partner and their 5-month-old baby, was found dead inside their house in Barangay Sudlon II, Cebu City on Sunday, December 31, 2023.
According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), the woman was allegedly found with ligature marks on her neck.
These marks lead the victim’s family to believe that Arcilla was strangled to death. Suspicions also arose that the woman allegedly committed suicide. However, no rope was found at the scene of the incident.
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In a live interview with Allan Domingo of Balitang Bisdak posted on his social media page, the victim’s mother, Aurora Arcilla, expressed that she believes that her daughter was killed.
She suspects that a female neighbor, with whom the victim had previously fought, was responsible for the crime.
Aurora explained that the two had been arguing online for some time already. Her daughter reportedly borrowed P600 from her female neighbor for her ultrasound session.
The same neighbor accompanied her to the clinic, and when Arcilla asked to see the receipt to verify how much she actually paid, the neighbor allegedly got mad.
Aurora said her daughter sent her older sister a message on Sunday that they planned to have dinner together.
At around 5 p.m., Arcilla again informed her sister that she was waiting for her common-law partner to get home.
But at 5:20 p.m., Aurora received a message from Arcilla that they decided to stay at home to have drinks with her partner’s sister.
At around 6 p.m., they received the news that Arcilla fainted, and they rushed to her house.
The mother relayed that she believes that the last message was not sent by her daughter because her messaging style is different from her usual way.
She also said that Arcilla could not have committed suicide because she was a happy girl.
The victim’s partner, Jomart Monicar, also shared his suspicion that their neighbor killed Arcilla.
Monicar said he left the house to take his older sister home and buy food. Arcilla was breastfeeding their baby at the time.
However, he claimed that when he arrived home, he found their baby crying alone and with bruises.
The victim’s mother shared that Arcilla could have dropped the baby when she was attacked. When Monicar went looking for his partner, he found her unconscious and kneeling on the bed.
Monicar called for help from their neighbors. Arcilla was rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Monicar also said that they found the ligature marks on her neck at the hospital.
In light of the incident, Cebu City police will be conducting a deeper investigation to determine the truth behind Arcilla’s death.
“Sa pagkakaron, ang atong mga kapulisan, nagpalalom kita sa atong imbestigasyon. Naa tay sutaonon pa jud, iconfirm nato kung unsa gyud ang tinuod. Kini ba isa ka suicide or unsa ba kini nga panghitaboa,” stated Rafter.
She also mentioned that an autopsy will be conducted on Arcilla’s body to determine the cause of her death.
The victim’s mother pleaded to possible witnesses to come forward to help give justice to her daughter.
Meanwhile, Monicar expressed that he is willing to undergo a lie detector test if needed.
When asked about whether he usually fought with his partner, Monicar admitted that they usually had small fights because of jealousy. However, he denied hurting Arcilla himself.
He also denied allegations that he was seen using his cellphone minutes before he called for help.
According to Rafter, they will be interviewing all individuals allegedly involved as part of their investigation to gather leads on the case.
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