Court orders arrest of QC cop for wife’s slay

A judge of the Marikina City regional trial court (RTC) ordered yesterday the arrest of a Quezon City policeman tagged as the prime suspect in the brutal killing of his wife two months ago.

Judge Reuben de la Cruz denied bail to the suspect, PO1 Elmer Buena, assigned at the Central Police District (CPD) Baler Substation in Quezon City, after being charged with parricide.

De la Cruz issued a warrant of arrest for Buena after reviewing the decision of Assistant Prosecutor Nestor Gapuzan, who earlier, ordered the policeman released on a mere technicality.

Buena was the prime suspect in the killing of his wife, Maria Morena Buena, 33, whose body was discovered under a bridge along Marcos Highway in Barangay Calumpang, Marikina City at around 10:30 a.m. last March 13.

Mrs. Buena sustained a bullet wound under her ear. She was identified by her cousin Vivian Pagtalon-An, 32, in a funeral parlor several days after the incident.

Pagtalon-An said Mrs. Buena told her that she would be meeting her husband somewhere in Cubao the day she left their house in Mandaluyong City. She said Buena ordered her not to tell anybody about their supposed meeting.

The victim learned that her husband was carrying on an affair with another woman, prompting her to file a case with the Internal Affairs Service of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to demand financial support for their child, Michael.

Police theorized that the suspect left his wife naked to make it appear that she was raped before being killed. Two 9mm shells were found in the crime scene. – Non Alquitran