MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:30 p.m.) — The Bureau of Corrections has confirmed the death of former cop Jonel Nuezca, who was convicted for the killing of a mother and son in Tarlac in December 2020.
BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag said Nuezca was walking outside his dormitory building at the New Bilibid Prison on Tuesday night when he collapsed.
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He was pronounced dead on 6:44 p.m., November 30, Chaclag added. He also said that the cause of death is still unknown and his body will be autopsied.
“Investigation ongoing to determine if there is foul play in the incident,” the BuCor spokesperson added.
Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco said they have already asked the BuCor for a copy of their investigation report.
'Killer cop'
Last August, the Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 106 found Nuezca guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder, on two counts. The court also sentenced him to reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years of imprisonment, for each count.
Nuezca was filmed shooting 52-year-old Sonia Gregorio and her son Frank Anthony Gregorio at close range during an argument in the latter’s home on Dec. 20, 2020. Video of the cold blooded killing of the two, who were both unarmed, went viral.
The court said the prosecution "was able to lucidly establish" that Nuezca killed Sonia and Frank Anthony and that the killing "[was] attended by attendant circumstance of treachery as testified to by prosecution eyewitnesses."
"The attack made by the accused is so swift and sudden that the victims were not able to defend themselves. The shots fired were made in quick succession… The victims are unsuspecting and never knew during the span of commotion and altercation that the accused has a gun," it added.
Calls for reform within the agency resounded in the days following the killings, when ranking government officials including Police Brig. Gen. Brandi Usana, the spokesperson of the PNP at the time, were quick to condemn the killing but asserted that it was an "isolated incident." — with reports from Franco Luna