Bukidnon police deepens investigation on elderly couple's slay

QUEZON, Bukidnon — Investigators have recovered four empty .45-caliber shell casings from the home of an elderly couple found dead and whose bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition in Barangay Palacapao.

The police said the recovery of the casings could provide crucial leads in solving the case.

Police Lt. Col. Erwin Naelga, chief of the Quezon Municipal Police Station, said the shell casings were seen during a follow-up processing of the crime scene by investigators and personnel from the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO).

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The victims, live-in partners aged 66 and 63, were found inside their home on Friday, July 3, after the 66-year-old woman’s niece went to check on them when they had not been seen for some time.

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The niece immediately reported the incident to the police after finding the couple lying motionless inside the house.

Master Sgt. Erb Diaz, the station’s investigator, said the bodies were already in an advanced state of decomposition, infested with maggots and emitting a strong foul odor.

Investigators estimated the couple had been dead for nearly two weeks before they were discovered.

Naelga said the victims’ personal belongings remained intact, prompting investigators to rule out robbery as the apparent motive behind the killings.

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“The recovery of the shell casings is one of the pieces of evidence we are validating as part of our investigation.

It provides us with a possible lead, but we are still awaiting the results of the forensic examination conducted by SOCO,” Naelga said.

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Police said the victims were engaged in corn farming and lived in a remote, hilly area of Barangay Palacapao, far from neighboring houses.

Investigators believe their isolated location may have contributed to the delayed discovery of their deaths and have complicated efforts to identify possible witnesses or suspects.

The victims’ residence is about four kilometers from the site of the massive landslide and road collapse in Sitio Kipolot, Barangay Palacapao, that occurred in October 2025.

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Naelga appealed to the public to come forward with any information that could help identify those responsible for the killings, saying community cooperation would be vital in the investigation. /apl