Lawyer’s wife killed in botched hit

A lawyer’s wife was shot dead in Quezon City yesterday morning by gunmen who mistook her for her husband while she was driving his car, according to police.

Superintendent Franklin Moises Mabanag, chief of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said the suspects’ supposed target could be lawyer Manuel Castro, 68, a resident of Barangay Central.

Mabanag told reporters that the attempt on Castro’s life could be related to his profession, noting that the lawyer is currently the legal counsel of a state witness in a high-profile murder case pending at a Metro Manila court.

According to Mabanag, Castro brought his maroon Toyota Corolla to the Quezon City Hall of Justice yesterday morning. His wife, Margie, decided to follow him there to get the car.

Before she could reach their house, two armed men suddenly blocked her path at around 9:10 a.m. on Mabuhay street and fired at the car. Mabanag said that the gunmen had been waiting in the area for an hour when they spotted the car.

The suspect left Margie when they saw that it was not Castro and the two gunmen left the scene on foot, Mabanag said.

The incident is the second slay attempt on a lawyer in two days. Redemberto Villanueva, 49, was shot by an unidentified suspect in front of his office Tuesday. Mabanag said it may be connected to a case handled by Villanueva that involved a politician in the Visayas.        – Reinir Padua