A police investigator inspects the Kia Picanto sedan where Agnelen Uy was found tied up with a fatal gunshot wound in the head. The family car was found parked overnight in F. Cabahug street in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
Police look closer at estranged husband; He says armed men ‘kidnapped’ spouse
She was last seen meeting with her estranged husband, who wanted to have their marriage annulled.
Agnelen E. Uy, a 31-year-old human resources manager, was found dead inside the family car parked by the road in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City past 5 a.m. yesterday.
The mother of three had a bullet through the back of her head, which was covered in a malong. Her legs were tied with gray packing tape.
Seven hours earlier, her husband Wayne Christopher, reported to police in Mandaue City that two armed men had taken the car with his wife still inside.
“Niharang na sa barangay Tipolo unya giti-unan ko paggawas ba, so gawas ko. Sud sila dayon sila sa sakyanan (We were stopped in barangay Tipolo. They poked a gun at me and motioned for me to get out. I got off and they drove off with the car), ” said Wayne, who owns a lending company in Mandaue City.
Police said the 41-year-old husband is under investigation as a “person of interest.”
Agnelen E. Uy
Asked why there was a three-hour delay in reporting at 10:25 p.m. that his wife was kidnapped, Wayne said he was “in shock” and running about in fear that he was being followed by the assailants.
Wayne said he had no idea who would want to kill his spouse.
The couple had split up months earlier over suspicions that that his wife was unfaithful. Wayne filed two police complaints in August about their arguments over her alleged infidelity.
A security guard found the green Kia Picanto sedan parked beside a building along Almendras St. corner F. Cabahug Street.
The guard, Wilfredo Paspi, assigned in the nearby Alcon establishment said he went near to check on a water meter, and was surprised to see through the car window, human feet tied with packing tape.
The sub-compact car with plate number YDL-514 was already parked there past 7 p.m. of Wednesday, when the guard started his duty, he said.
The car doors were unlocked when police operatives of the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), homicide provers and paramedics arrived in the morning.
Inside they found three mobile phones, a water jug filled with gasoline, a live .45 caiber bullet and the victim’s bag with ID cards.
Uy worked as an HR manager of Smart Minds Software Development Company. The couple has three young children, but Wayne said he was not the father of the youngest one.
Uy’s body was lying face down in between the two front seats with her head in the back seat. A blood-soaked cloth of a malong covered her head.
A piece of packing tape was found in one hand, possibly the same tape used to tie her legs. She still wore her necklace and bracelet.
In the car trunk, police found a pair of heeled shoes, gray packing tape, an empty water container and a black woman’s bag with Uy’s wallet.
One ID showed Uy had once enrolled in a care giving course in Sices Philippines Cebu, a training school.
VIDEO FOOTAGE
Senior Insp. David Señor, CSI chief, said video footage of at least two closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the area will be examined.
Wayne Christopher Uy
Wayne, the victim’s husband, showed up at the Rolling Hills Funeral Homes after Agnelen’s body was brought there for autopsy.
He said they no longer live together in Urban Deca Homes in Tipolo and that the couple met on Wednesday afternoon for a “personal talk” to discuss the petition for annulment of marriage which he had filed.
Before that, the last time he saw his wife and children was two months ago, he said.
Agnelen was in the car, he was driving, Wayne told reporters, when two men on board a motorcycle blocked their way past 7 p.m. in barangay Tipolo in the Mandaue Reclamation Area.
The three-hour gap in reporting the crime to police was suspicious, said SPO2 Victor Ayuman, homicide investigator.
“Wa nako nakahuna-huna kay shock naman ko. Nag sige lang kog tuyok-tuyok basin naa gasunod (I couldn’t think straight. I was in shock. I kept running afraid that someone may be following me),” explained Wayne.
In the Subangdaku Police Station in Mandaue, Wayne reported the incident at 10:25 p.m. as a carnapping and kidnapping.
The desk officer, SPO1 Michael Limalima, said Wayne described how he was driving around Cebu City with his wife having a “personal talk” starting 4 p.m. near the NRA when two men on a motorbike stopped them about 7 p.m.
The car was registered in the name of Greg Gabison, who had sold the vehicle last year but the papers were not yet finalized. Gabison said he knew Wayne because they were partners in a software solutions company which was dissolved in 2011.
“I only met his wife (Agnelen) once maybe five years ago,” said Gabison, who went to Camp Sotero Cabahug to clear his name.
He said he heard the radio news report about the slain woman and immediately called the station and Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak. Gabison said Wayne texted him at 12:09 a.m. to forewarn him that the car had been stolen and his wife kidnapped.
Señor said the husband was not a suspect but a person of interest in the investigation since he was last seen in the company of the victim.
Wayne underwent a paraffin test to check his fingerprints. His mobile phone was taken for police examination.
“The two are involved in a pending annulment of marriage and figured in disagreements. The police investigation will continue to gather evidence,”said Señor.
A CCTV camera footage showed a man disembark from the vehicle right after parking it . Images still have to be enhanced to identify the man.
Wayne said he would cooperate with the police investigation.
At least twice in August, he had gone to the Subgandaku police station to complain that his wife was having an illicit affair.
On August 13, according to a police blotter report, Wayne reported that his wife stabbed him with scissors during a heated argument after he caught Agnelen sending text messages to her alleged lover. Wayne said that last Febuary 22, he read one text message received by his wife saying “I love you.”
The businessman said Agnelen threatened to kill him.
On August 15, Wayne reported to police that his wife slashed the the wheel of his parked green Kia with a knife, vandalized the windshield and ripped off the rear guard before leaving in a taxi./WITH Correspondents Chito Aragon, Jhunnex Napallacan and Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap