Sleeping man hacked dead by drinking pal

After injuring his drinking partner in a fistfight, an 18-year-old male helper was hacked to death while he slept in the open hut of his employer in barangay Maya, Daanbantayan town, last Wednesday morning.

Police identified the victim as Jovy Pepito, a native of Calubian, Leyte, whose bloodied, lifeless body was found around 6 a.m. by his employer Joseph Rodrigo and barangay captain Rogelio Moralde.

Pepito’s body had hack wounds in the face, arms, chest and fingers.  He was rushed to the Daanbantayan District Hospital but died an hour later.

Daanbantayan investigator SPO2 Cesar Alburo said that the suspected assailant, a 17-year-old helper of a bakeshop in the barangay, surrendered to barangay tanod chief Raul Doblin and three tanods, who turned him over to the police.

The suspect, a native of San Isidro, Leyte, said he yielded because he was bothered by his conscience.  He is now detained at the police station and the police have the 16-inch chopping knife he reportedly used in the crime.

Investigation showed that Pepito and the suspected killer were drinking in the hut the night before.  They got into a heated argument, which led into a fistfight where Pepito bit and wounded the right eye of the suspect.

The fight ended but the injured suspect was not about to accept his loss without revenge.  So when Pepito fell asleep, the suspect returned with a chopping knife and hacked Pepito many times then left him for dead.  — Jo-ana Marie Desuyo, CNU intern/RAE