Dead girl’s family has no plan to pursue probe

Danica Rose Eroyla, 22, was found dead inside an inn in Cebu City on Jan. 7, 2018, with her partner Ely Malagum, 65, who her family believed shot her before he killed himself. / Photo from Eroyla’s Facebook page used with the permission of her family

CEBU CITY — The family of the 22-year-old woman who was found dead with her 65-year-old partner inside an inn in Cebu City on Monday wants to drop all investigation into the case.

Mercy Labrador, the older sister of Danica Rose Eroyla, said she would just focus her energy and her “little” resources in giving her sister a decent burial.

Eroyla and Ely Malagum, the woman’s common-law partner of four years, were found dead inside the room that they occupied in an inn along Manalili Street in the evening of Monday, January 7. The victims  had separate gunshot wound to the head.

Labrador said going through the autopsy and an investigation would be pointless since both Malagum and Eroyla are dead.

Labrador earlier said she believed that Malagum killed Eroyla before committing suicide. A Gloc 9mm pistol was found on Malagum’s hand at the crime scene.

Labrador, a housewife to a carpenter, said she was still looking for ways to pay for her sister’s funeral service because her family has very little money and that she has young children, who are even sick right now, to take care.

“Lisud gyud kaayo mi. Naa pa baya koy mga anak nga nasakit gani ron. Ang akoa na lang kay mahipos nako siya ug tarong,” Labrador told CDN Digital.

Senior Inspector Joemar Pomarejos, chief of the Waterfront Police Station, said in a separate interview that Eroyla’s family has the option not to pursue an investigation.

However, Pomarejos said they will still have to wait for the results of the paraffin tests on the two victims and the ballistic examination on the gun recovered from the crime scene. The results have yet to be released by the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) Regional Crime Laboratory, he said. /elb