A lifeless body which appeared to have been severely beaten up was found inside a police car of the Cortes Police Station on Friday morning.
PO3 Joel Orapa of the Cortes police identified the victim as Rodulfo Cailig, 30, of Barangay Loreto in the said town.
According to Orapa, Cailig’s lifeless body was discovered at around 6 a.m. by on-duty police officers who noted that the victim initially appeared to be just sleeping at the backseat of the vehicle which was parked outside the police station.
Based on their initial investigation, Orapa said that Cailig may have succumbed to injuries sustained due to a severe beating which caused multiple bruises all over his body.
There were no signs of stab and gunshot wounds in the victim’s body, Orapa added.
According to Orapa, Cailig on Thursday night reported to police that he was beaten up by his live-in partner’s brother identified as Petsi Tundag.
Cailig told authorities that Tundag attacked him for allowing his daughter who is of minor age to leave their house at night.
According to Orapa, police officers accompanied the victim back to their house supposedly to arrest Tundag but the latter was no longer around.
Cailig and the policemen then returned to the police station where the victim was last seen alive by authorities.
On-duty personnel saw Cailig leave the police station that night on board his motorcycle, Orapa said.
However, authorities believe that Cailig may have returned to the police station and slept inside the police car as Tundag allegedly threatened to kill him if he returned to their village.
In its latest update, the Cortes police said that Tundag surrendered this afternoon after being informed of Cailig’s death.
Meanwhile, the victim’s body is set to be subjected to an autopsy to verify the cause of death. (Allen Doydora)