KATHERINE Retita covers her face after she was arrested for fatally stabbing her partner, a teacher, in Minglanilla, Cebu.(Contributed photo)
CEBU CITY – A 43-year-old teacher was brutally killed by her live-in partner, a lesbian, following a heated argument in their home in Barangay Tubod, Minglanilla town, Cebu province on Monday night, Oct. 6.
Melanie Lee Lastimosa, a teacher at the Lawaan Elementary School in Talisay City, Cebu, succumbed to multiple stab wounds.
The suspect, Katherine Retita, 42, was arrested after the incident.
The crime happened a day after the World Teacher’s Day celebration.
Police said the couple had been arguing days before the fatal confrontation.
On Monday night, the couple fought anew.
Investigation by the Minglanilla police showed that the fight broke out after the suspect blamed the teacher after their dog was able to run out of their gate.
The suspect recaptured the dog but the argument continued at home.
The suspect, who was drunk at the time, went out of the house in the middle of the argument. The teacher quickly locked the door when the suspect stepped out.
The suspect kept knocking on the door but the teacher ignored her.
The suspect then tricked the teacher by pretending that she got bitten by a snake and was able to convince her partner to open the door.
Inside the house, the couple argued anew until the suspect took a knife and repeatedly stabbed the teacher.
Neighbors then called the police after noticing the commotion in the house.
Responding police later found the bloodied victim slumped on the ground near the gate of the house.
The house was locked when the police arrived. It turned out that the suspect locked herself in a room where she as eventually arrested.
The victim was brought to the Minglanilla District Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.
Police said a charge of murder will be filed against the suspect.