‘Lawyer got threats over $30-M land deal’

Murdered lawyer Teo-doro "Teddy" Gonzales had been receiving death threats in connection with a $20-million to $30-million property transaction, a friend and associate based in Australia said yesterday.

In an interview with ABS-CBN news network, lawyer Bernie David said he doubted the murder of Gonzales and his family was motivated by racial hatred.

"A racist Australian would not have committed an act that violent. It’s more likely that it was a crime of vengeance," David said.

Gonzales, 46, was found stabbed to death in the hallway by his son Sef, 20, who returned to the family’s home in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde before midnight July 10.

The mother, Mary Josephine Loiva, 43, was found by the son in the living room of the two-story home and 18-year-old sister Claudine in an upstairs bedroom with their throats cut.

Sources close to the police investigation said a racial slur was daubed on a wall close to one of the bodies but detectives still have not established a motive for the killings.

David said Gonzales had a heated exchange over the phone with an unidentified Filipino businessman in connection with the deal a month before the slaying in Sydney.

"He received threats and was very emotional over the property deal," the lawyer said.

Gonzales, who brought his family to Sydney from the Philippines in 1991, was a solicitor specializing in immigration law.

Sources had told ABS-CBN that most people associated with Gonzales were often critical of the lawyer because of alleged overpricing in terms of rates. Clients were often disgruntled and had many complaints, sources said.

People within the community, including Filipinos, likewise doubted that the crime may have been perpetrated by racial hatred, saying they have felt no such tension since they moved to North Ryde.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo has written the family of the victims to express her condolences and to assure them the Philippine government was looking closely into the case.

In her letter to Frederick Gonzales, a brother of the slain lawyer, the President assured relatives that embassy and foreign affairs officials will be exerting all effort to assist investigators in Australia.

Australian police are now looking closely into the three hours between 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., which they believe hold the key to the brutal murders.

A clipping of The Australian newspaper sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday indicated that some time during the said period, "all four family members were together in their home."

"The wife probably arrived home after 6 p.m. and would most likely have been met by daughter Claudine, who was visiting from her boarding school for the semester break ... Teddy Gonzales left his Blacktown office for the drive home, which could take up to 60 minutes, about the same time his wife would be arriving home," the article, titled "Vital hours in murder hunt," said.

Investigators believe Mr. Gonzales was slain after he disturbed the killers of his wife and daughter. According to the story, police said Sef left for a night on the town about 8 p.m. and arrived home about 11:45 p.m. – Pia Lee-Brago, Marichu Villanueva