KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Police in North Cotabato arrested on Wednesday an Army soldier detailed at the engineering battalion of the Army's 602nd Brigade after he admitted killing and burying his wife.
Carmen town police chief Jordine Maribojo said Private First Class Mariano Ampatuan could no longer deny the killing of his wife, Bernadette, 37, after they excavated her body in a graveyard inside the headquarters of the 602nd Brigade around 1:30 p.m., Wednesday.
In an autopsy conducted by Carmen municipal health officer Dr. Jose Naquitquitan, it was found out that the victim suffered bruises and a deep wound in the head.
The victim was naked when Maribojo and his men discovered her.
Cotabato provincial police chief Cornelio Salinas said a marital rift caused the suspect to kill his wife.
Ampatuan, however, refused to disclose what caused the rift and if it was worth the life of his wife.
Maribojo said the victim left her house in Malita, Davao del Sur on September 11 on order of Ampatuan.
The victim told her relatives she would be back on the 14th.
When she failed to return home, they were worried.
On September 17, the victim's brother-in-law, Davao del Sur Provincial Board Member Isabelo Masiwel, went to Carmen town and sought for the help of Maribojo.
Immediately, the Carmen police coordinated with the 602nd Brigade so they could conduct investigation about the case.
"At first, Pfc. Ampatuan has denied he knew his wife's whereabouts. But we received information the wife has not left the premises of the Army’s headquarters. So we decided to stay and dig deeper on the issue. Until we found the body," Maribojo said.
They immediately handcuffed Ampatuan and placed him at the detention cell in Carmen town while a case of parricide is being prepared against him. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
