Love triangle leads to murder, foul play cited by police

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

 

A love triangle may had led a husband in Numancia, Aklan to kill the purported lover of his wife. 

Police Inspector Willian  Aguirre, chief of Numancia PNP, said they will file a murder case before the Aklan Provincial Prosecutors Office against the couple for the alleged killing of 42-year old Ariel Beltran.

The suspects are residents of Sitio Ilawod, Laguinbanua West, Numancia,  Aklan. 

Police dismissed the suicide claim, but, the couple denied they conspired and had any involvement to kill Beltran.

Dr. Joe Martin Fuentes, medico-legal of PNP Crime Laboratory, cited the cause of death of Beltran as asphyxia as a result of hanging. Prior to his death, Beltran suffered injuries. 

Last Wednesday morning, Beltran was found close to the home of the couple where he was hanged in a mango tree with a curtain cloth around his neck. 

Autopsy results revealed the victim has multiple injuries, including skull fracture, abrasions in his wrists and shoulders and injuries in the left side area of his scrotum.

 
Ariel, his brother and a friend had a drinking spree in a sari-sari store, which is a stone's throw away from the house of the couple last Tuesday at around 6 p.m. at Laguinbanua West. 

 
Police said the sari-sari store closed at 7 p.m. but Ariel decided to stay in the place while his brother and their friend went home. At around 10 p.m. the victim's wife also tried to fetch him but he opted to stay behind. 

 
Beltran was last seen near the house of the couple reportedly to invite the woman’s husband for a drink.  

Beltran, a resident of Bubog, Numancia, Aklan, was embroiled in a love triangle for the past seven years, falling into a passionate affair with the married woman. The victim was also the ‘kumpare’ of the couple. 

Police said they will rely on circumstantial evidences for the filing of a case against the couple, hinting at a possible angle of a love triangle-crime. Beltran was likely beaten up and strangled before he was hanged. 

As of press time, police have not recovered any of the weapons used in the slaying.