BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The wife of alleged Cebu drug kingpin, Jinnefer Mercado, was found dead, and buried in a bamboo plantation in Brgy. San Miguel, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Jonel Guadalope, officer-in-charge of the La Carlota City Police Station, said yesterday that the victim, Juliet Mercader, wife of slain former Lugo barangay chairman Jinnefer Mercader, of Borbon, Cebu, was positively identified by her family members, who claimed her cadaver yesterday.
Juliet was found dead two days after her husband died in a shootout with policemen during a manhunt operation in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.
Guadalope said that Juliet, who succumbed to a gunshot wound in the head, was naked when her body was discovered in a bamboo plantation.
Policemen also recovered personal belongings of the victim, including a gold plated RADO wristwatch, an amulet locally known as “Habak”, and heart-shaped earrings.
Guadalope raised the possibility that that victim was brought and buried in the area by her assailants, stressing the need to conduct an autopsy on her cadaver to determine if she had been molested or not.
La Carlota City police probers are also coordinating with the Murcia Police Station to establish if there is a link to the killing of Juliet and the activities of her husband.
Before his death in a shootout in Murcia, Mercader escaped from a jail facility in Borbon, Cebu, where he was detained for illegal possession of firearms and violation of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002.
The police said P472,000 worth of suspected shabu, a .45 caliber pistol and a 12 gauge shotgun were taken from the slain Mercader.*G
