Philippine Daily Inquirer Digital Edition

Killer cop Nuezca dies in Bilibid

—STORY BY DEXTER CABALZA

Serving less than a year of his supposed 80-year jail sentence, Jonel Nuezca, a former police officer who was convicted for killing a mother and her son in Tarlac in December 2020, has died, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) confirmed on Wednesday. The BuCor spokesperson said the cause of Nuezca’s death remained unknown and an investigation was under way to check if there was foul play.

Serving less than a year of his supposed 80-year prison sentence, Jonel Nuezca, a former police officer who was convicted for killing a mother and son in Tarlac province in December 2020, has died, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) confirmed on Wednesday.

In a message to reporters, BuCor spokesperson Assistant Secretary Gabriel Chaclag said Nuezca, a who was found guilty of murder on two counts, was found dead at New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

Nuezca was 47 years old.

Cause unknown

Chaclag said Nuezca died at 6:44 p.m. on Tuesday. The cause of his death was still unknown.

“Investigation [is still] ongoing to determine if there is foul play in the incident,” he said.

Before he was found dead, Chaclag said Nuezca, along with other inmates, was walking outside their dormitory building at NBP’s maximum security compound on Tuesday night, when he suddenly collapsed.

An unconscious Nuezca was brought by his cellmates to the NBP Hospital around 6:30 p.m. but was later pronounced dead.

Murders on video

Nuezca, then a police officer of Parañaque, shot dead in close range Sonya Gregorio, 52, and her son Frank, 25, after a heated argument outside their home in Paniqui, Tarlac, on Dec. 20, 2020.

The video of the cold-blooded murders of the unarmed Gregorios was uploaded on social media and eventually went viral, causing netizens to push for police reforms.

The Philippine National Police, at that time, however, asserted it was “an isolated incident.”

On Aug. 26, 2021, the local regional trial court convicted Nuezca of two counts of murder.

He was sentenced to reclusion perpetua (40 years in prison) for each count of murder, and also ordered to pay damages to the heirs of the Gregorios amounting to P952,000.

In Tarlac, Mark Christian Gregorio, the eldest son of Sonya Gregorio, said they wanted confirmation from authorities that Nuezca was already dead.

‘Doubtful, afraid’

“Baka naman po pinalabas ’yan. Di po kami maniniwala hangga’t ’di po namin nakikita yung katawan. (It could be just for cover. We won’t believe it until we see his body,” Mark Christian told the Inquirer by phone.

He said the news of Nuezca’s death, which came while they were preparing for the death anniversary of his mother and brother on Dec. 20, has again stoked fears among their family members.

“Actually po nagdududa at natatakot ako... babalik ang trauma namin (I’m doubtful and afraid... it will bring back the trauma),” Mark Christian said.

Nuezca was found guilty of murdering his neighbors with whom he had a heated argument over an improvised noisemaker called a “boga.”

The fatal shooting was captured on a smartphone video and quickly uploaded online, drawing public condemnation.

Nuezca was found guilty by Judge Stela Marie Gandia Asunción of Paniqui Regional Trial Court Branch 106.

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2021-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

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Philippine Daily Inquirer