Lady lawyer dies in Mandaue car ambush

A female lawyer was shot dead while her law firm partner, and an office accountant were wounded when motorcycle-riding men ambushed her car last night in Looc, Mandaue City.

Amelie Ocañada-Alegre, 35, died on the spot. She was in the driver’s seat of her BMW sedan when the attack occurred around 7 p.m.  along Catalino Street.

Her associate, former Mandaue administrator and IBP Cebu City president Briccio Joseph Boholst, was in the back seat. He was shot in the upper left leg but managed to run to a store nearby and seek help.

Anthony Pino, who was in the passenger seat, was hit in the abdomen.

The assailants wore full-face helmets and black jackets, said police.

Alegre, who was driving a BMW with tinted windows, was bringing  Boholst to his residence in Looc.

Boholst, 52, and Pino were taken to the University of Cebu (UC) Medical Center for treatment, said Boholst’s wife Judilyne.

Lawyer Elaine Bathan, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Eastern Visayas governor, condemned the killing, saying the police must investigate the incident and arrest the culprits.

“This is too much injustice to us lawyers,” she said, after lawyer Noel Archival was killed in a car  ambush in Dalaguete town in February 2014. Murder charges were later filed against police officers of the Highway Patrol Group who had an axe to grind against Archival.

Alegre who died of multiple gunshot wounds appeared to be the target of last night’s shooting.

Bathan said the slain lawyer handled corporate or civil cases, and wasn’t handling controversial  ones.

Alegre’s mother, Marieta, who  rushed to the  scene, told Cebu Daily News her only daughter had confided to her about receiving  death threats from her estranged husband, Ryan. The couple got married in 2004, but separated four years later. Her husband later filed a petition in court to annul their marriage, said Marieta.

Ryan, a businessman, will  be invited to shed light on the killing,  said Senior Supt. Mariano Natuel, Mandaue city police chief, but he cautioned that it was too early to make any conclusion.

Police will also review footage of a CCTV camera about 100 meters from the crime scene.

Alegre and Boholst were partners in the BOHR & SC Legal Management and Consultancy Corp. based in Tipolo, Mandaue City. BOHR stands for Boholst, Ocañada-Alegre, Herrera-Klepp and Remedio.

Judilyne, Boholst’s wife, said she was hosting a prayer meeting when she learned about the shooting. She rushed to the scene, about 500 meters from their residence, and took Boholst to the hospital.

Boholst served as IBP Cebu City president from 2007 to 2009 and was city administrator during the first term of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.

READ: Female lawyer shot dead, former Mandaue City administrator survives ambush