Blinded by jealousy Mom's lover eyed in her child's slay

Too much love can lead you to kill.

CEBU, Philippines - This might be the case of a man, who is alleged to have kidnapped and killed the seven-year-old son of his live-in partner in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City.

Apparently driven by jealousy, Mario Abesia, 42, who is a driver for one of the companies in Mandaue City, allegedly took Gabriel Morales, youngest of three sons of Christine Morales, 29, in Barangay Umapad of the same city last Saturday.

The children of Christine are all from a previous relationship.

Gabriel’s body was found yesterday. It was wrapped in a yellow blanket and buried in a shallow grave inside the toilet of Abesia’s residence in Subangdaku.

The boy was hurriedly buried that a portion of his was still visible despite efforts to cover it. The stench also led to its discovery.

The police said that the boy was gagged using a masking tape.

Abesia denies killing the boy saying that he left the child under the care of Arsenio ‘Jun-jun’ Ursal, who he tagged as the one who killed the boy.

Ursal has also vehemently denied this.

Abesia admitted to taking the boy from Barangay Umapad after he and Christine had a fight.

Insp. Wilson Abot, chief of the Opao Police Station, said that last Saturday afternoon, Christine sought their help because her son was allegedly taken by Abesia. This happened after Christine broke off her relationship with the suspect after two months of living together.

Abesia said that it hurt him when Christine, who works in a bar, allegedly said that she did not love him and was only after his money.

The suspect also claimed that Christine had a new lover, which she denied.

The victim’s mother said that she broke off the relationship because she could not stand Abesia’s jealousy considering her kind of work.

Abesia allegedly took the boy at around 5 p.m. and brought him to Fuente Osmeña in Cebu City where they ate before heading to his house in Barangay Subangdaku at past 9 p.m. last Saturday.

Ursal said that he was asked by Abesia to buy masking tape, but he did not know what it was for.

Abesia claimed that Ursal was the one who gagged the boy using the tape and that he only hogtied the child, which the latter denied.

Ursal said that he did not know there was a child in Abesia’s residence when he was asked to run an errand. He even claimed that when he took a look inside the house, he did not see any one when Abesia asked him to pawn his stereo as he needed the money.

Abesia also claimed that he could not have killed the boy as he left him under Ursal’s care so that he could look for Christine and her alleged lover as he wanted to kill them.

Ursal said that he was drinking with friends when the child was allegedly killed. He even brought witnesses to the police station to corroborate his statement.

Abesia said that he loved the boy so much and he could not have killed him.

“Wa gyud ko’y kalabutan sa pagpatay anang bataa, kay pinangga ko kaayo na, kanunay ko pang hagkan, mao ra gyuy akong plano nga ang akong patyon mao ang akong love nga si Chistine ug ang iyang bag-ong hinigugma,” Abesia said.

He also said that when he learned from neighbors that the police were looking for him after Christine reported that he took the boy he did not anymore go back to his house.

Insp. Abot, however, said that last Saturday evening Christine received a text coming from the suspect that her son was already dead. The police official theorized that it might have been sent at the time when the suspect was already in act of committing the crime.

 Abot said that the suspect was arrested last Monday during an entrapment operation against him, when Morales told police that the suspect sent him a text message that he wants them to make up.

 The suspect asked Christine to meet him at a lodge in Barangay Guizo where the police arrested Abesia.

 Abot said that Abesia denied knowing the whereabouts of the child as he allegedly gave him to a friend who would sell the boy in Dumaguete City.

The police was about to send a team to Dumaguete City when they received reports that the child’s body was found.

Ursal, who is a son of a barangay tanod of Barangay Subangdaku was arrested yesterday morning at the crime scene. He was one of many curious onlookers.

 Sr. Supt Noel Gillamac, director of the Mandaue City Police Office, in a separate interview said that the incident was a crime of passion.–/NLQ (FREEMAN)