By Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz – A 62-year-old fisherman denied killing his neighbor last March 8, 2022 at Sitio Barusbos in Brgy. Lonoy, Sapian, Capiz.

Ludovico Vera Evarista told the media here that he was shocked when the police arrested him for the death of Rosalie Barried, 42.

“Naglain gid buot ko nga ginpasibangdan nga ako ang nagpatay sa kalapit balay ko,” he said, claiming that the victim’s husband was his friend.

He narrated that on the day of the alleged murder, he went to the beach with a rope and boat paddle to fix his “tahungan” or mussel business. He went home around 10 a.m. on the same day.

He added that in his 34 years as a resident of said place, he was never charged of any wrongdoing.

Evarista denied having read the affidavit of the witness who claimed that he uttered the threatening words “kun mabal -an ko may nagapanguha sang akon tanum, patyon ko”, which was a very shallow reason to kill Barried.

The suspect said would like to know the motive of the police in tagging him as a suspect despite the lack of evidence to pin him down.

Police on Monday, July 25, arrested Evarista who is being tagged as the suspect in the murder of a housewife in Sapian, Capiz five months ago.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Capiz and Sapian police nabbed him at his house at Sitio Barusbos in Lonoy for a murder charge.

The warrant of arrest was issued last July 12, 2022.

A lone witnesses pointed to Evarista as the who allegedly hacked Barried to death.

The suspect is presently in the custody of the CIDG-Capiz Field Office after the court did not allow him to post bail.

The filing of the case was delayed because the witness feared for his life and his family.

The witness told the police that he saw the suspect hack the victim with a bolo while harvesting vegetables in his garden. He said the suspect moved the victim’s body away from the crime scene.

A week before the incident, the witness had said that he was informed that Evarista will kill anyone who will harvest his vegetables without his consent.

He said that it could be the reason why the suspect killed Barried after he caught her in the act picking his vegetables.

Rogie Altacura, 44, described his live-in partner Rosalie Barried as a soft-spoken woman who always stayed at home unless she has something to attend outside.

He could not recall that his wife has enemies in their village which could be the motive behind the incident.

“Tani ako na lang ila patyon kun may sala ako indi ang akun nga asawa”, he said.

He recalled that he was tending to their rice field when his 13-year-old daughter informed him about the incident.

He said that he could not believe at first, but he later confirmed when he reached the crime scene.

The victim’s throat was slashed apart from fatal injuries on forehead and both hands.

Before the incident happened, the victim went to the school to get the modules of their daughter.

The couples agreed that their viand for their lunch would be “abalong” with tamarind the reason why she was at the plantation which is about 150 meters away from their house.

The house of the couples was about a kilometer away from the nearest neighbor and barangay road.