The crazy thing is, the victim’s mother, Lea Gonzalena, told police that she had seen the couple—Edwin Arcala and Jefrel Tubiano—hurt her two-year-old daughter before. Despite this, she still chose to leave her child with them.
“Last Friday, Mar 14, Gonzalena asked live-in couple Arcala and Tuniano to look after her daughter while she worked,” reports ABS-CBN News correspondent Carolyn Bonquin on ABS-CBNnews.com.
Gonzalena explained that she received news later that day that her daughter figured in an accident. The report noted that “Arcala, who let Gonzalena and her daughter stay in his house, claimed that the victim hit her head after falling from a stack of boxes.”
On Saturday, Mar 15, the child died at the hospital due to a traumatic head injury. Gonzalena, who didn’t believe Arcala’s claim, went to the police.
By Sunday, Mar 16, Arcala and Tubiano were arrested for murder. Arcala is currently also facing a charge of illegal drug possession after he was caught with shabu.
Photo from MorgueFile (for illustration purposes only)
