Relatives unconvinced that dogs severed Dumanjug woman’s head

| File photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Relatives of an 83-year-old woman, who was found with a severed head in Dumanjug, Cebu, are urging the police to reopen their investigation into her case.

Emedio Pocong, the younger brother of Miguela Pocong Barino, said he could not believe that her pet dogs severed his sister’s head.

Pocong, 80, said that Barino had four dogs who accompanied her as she lived alone in her home located in the mountain barangay of Candabong.

READ: Elderly woman with severed head found in Dumanjug, Cebu

Barino had been living alone since her husband died 10 years ago.  The couple did not have any children.

Pocong is more convinced that Barino was hacked to death. What he doesn’t know is who could have done it and why?

“Kaning taw ug mamatay ug duha ka adlaw dili man na magbulag [ang ulo] gud,” Pocong said.

(If a person dies and has been dead for two days, the head does not separate from the rest of the body.)

READ: Body with severed head found in Brgy. Malubog

Pocong said that it was also possible that Barino was robbed.  He said that when she and her husband were younger, they engaged in a lending business.

Police investigation

Meanwhile, Nene, Barino’s niece, is looking for answers as to why her aunt’s hair were removed from her head.

Barino’s decomposing body was buried at the Ronda cemetery shortly after it was found on Saturday morning.

READ: Foul smell leads 2 kids to ‘beheaded man’ buried in sugarcane plantation in Cebu town

Police Capt. Eden Baguio, chief of the Dumanjug Police Station, clarified during an interview with radio station dyHP that they have not concluded their investigation on Barino’s case yet.

On the contrary, he said that they are considering all possible angles to determine the actual cause of her death and the possible motive.

However, the evidences that they have so far gathered indicate that there was no foul play in Barino’s death.

In an earlier interview, Baguio said that Barino may have died of heart attack.  He said that it was possible that a dog severed her head since her body was already beginning to decompose when it was found at least two days after she died.

Baguio said Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) also found a scratch on the lower part of her check.

No signs of struggle

During their investigation, SOCO did not see any signs of struggle or forced entry at the crime scene.  Barino’s cash, jewelry and other belongings were also untouched.

As part of their ongoing investigation, Dumanjug police are coordinating with local animal welfare groups to assess the condition of Barino’s dogs and make sure that they are given proper care. They suspect that prolonged isolation may have caused the dogs to severe Barino’s head and consume her flesh.

Two of Barino’s dogs recently had puppies.

Meanwhile, Police Colonel Jovito Atanacio, head of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), is urging the public to refrain from spreading misinformation about Barino’s death.

“We want to set the record straight—there is no foul play in this incident. The evidence gathered by our investigators and SOCO clearly indicates that this is an unfortunate case, but not a criminal one. We urge the public to avoid spreading misinformation that may cause unnecessary fear or panic. Rest assured, Cebu PPO remains committed to delivering factual and transparent investigations to uphold public trust,” read part of his statement.