By CYRUS M. GARDE
CADIZ City — A 33-year-old woman reported missing 26 days ago was found dead inside a sack on Sunday afternoon in the hinterland village of Magsaysay here.
May Rose Gella’s body, already decomposing, was found partly buried in a secluded area. Beside it were several empty shells of .9mm- and .38-caliber pistols.
Gella, a resident of Sitio Pasto in the said village, was reported missing since June 18.
On Monday, city police detained the man allegedly behind the killing: the victim’s alleged live-in partner, Ricky Lamis, 46.
Lamis reportedly surrendered to Supt. Gerardo Ulanday, Cadiz City police chief, at about 9 a.m. in Bacolod City.
He was accompanied by Magsaysay Barangay Captain Arthur Lamis, a distant relative.
Lamis, however, did not say anything about the crime. All he said was that he, too, had been looking for the victim.
Gella’s grandmother reported to the police that she had failed to come home.
Initial investigation showed that Gella was engaging with a male foreigner via online chat.
Police said the old empty shells were placed beside the victim’s body to mislead investigators.
Medico-legal officers were yet to determine the cause of Galla’s death./PN
