Bukidnon Police Deepen Investigation on Elderly Couple's Slaying, Shell Casings Offer Crucial Lead

QUEZON, Bukidnon — Investigators are deepening their probe into the slay of an elderly couple found dead in their home in Barangay Palacapao, Quezon town, with the recovery of four empty .45-caliber shell casings from the scene providing a crucial lead. According to Police Lt. Col. Erwin Naelga, chief of the Quezon Municipal Police Station, the shell casings were found during a follow-up processing of the crime scene. The victims, live-in partners aged 66 and 63, were discovered by the woman’s niece who went to check on them after they had not been heard from for several days. The bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition, infested with maggots, and emitting a strong foul odor, estimated to have been dead for nearly two weeks before discovery. Police have ruled out robbery as the motive, as the victims' personal belongings remained intact. "The recovery of the shell casings is one of the pieces of evidence we are validating as part of our investigation. It provides us with a possible lead, but we are still awaiting the results of the forensic examination conducted by SOCO," Naelga stated. The victims were corn farmers and lived in a remote, hilly area of Barangay Palacapao, far from neighboring houses. Investigators believe their isolated location may have contributed to the delayed discovery of their deaths and complicated efforts to identify possible witnesses or suspects. The residence is about four kilometers from the site of the massive landslide and road collapse in Sitio Kipolot, Barangay Palacapao, that occurred in October 2025. Naelga appealed to the public to come forward with any information that could help identify those responsible for the killings, emphasizing that community cooperation would be vital in the investigation.