Elderly couple found dead at home

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Police ruled out foul play behind the death of an elderly couple in Barangay Mansilingan here last Thursday.

Police identified the victims as Rene Gargoles, 67, and his wife Jane, 67.

Police Captain Elmer Bonilla, head of Police Station 7, said the nephew of the victims, who’s living near their house, went to their residence to bring them breakfast.

However, nobody answered, and all the doors and windows were locked, prompting him to call for the assistance of the police, the barangay captain, and watchmen.

Upon the arrival of the authorities, the victims’ nephew forcibly entered the house, where they saw the lifeless bodies of the couple at the separate bedrooms.

The couple lived on their own, Bonilla said.

Bonilla said that based on the medical examination, the husband died from cardiac arrest, while the wife succumbed to cancer.

Bonilla said that it just took a few hours for the funeral parlor to pick up the remains of the victims, as they were subjected to swab tests, as part of the health protocols.

The family refused to call Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO), as they believed the couple died of natural causes.