Police suspect that jealousy was behind the murder of Filipino housekeeper Romalyn Basalo, whose body was found last Dec. 29 inside the residence of the Lebanese ambassador to Austria. “The ... Filipina in the Lebanese ambassador's residence was brutally killed because of jealousy,” Lt. Col. Gerhard Haimeder and Ernst Hoffmann of the Vienna Criminal Investigation Office said during a press conference Thursday. During the press conference, a 39-year-old Filipino hotel employee, identified only as Abelardo M., allegedly married with three children in the Philippines, was officially named as the killer. Abelardo M. allegedly confessed his crime after a nine-hour interrogation by the police. Afterwards, he was detained. According to the police investigators, the suspect said he saw another man leaving the apartment when Basalo arrived at around 11:30 Monday night. Police said the 39-year-old suspect apparently knew the other man. Out of jealousy, there was an argument between the suspect and Basalo which then ended in bloodshed. “After the murder, the 39-year old was said to have left the apartment with the key of the victim. Together with the murder weapon – a 5-inch-long kitchen knife –he threw these in a nearby park,” said Hoffmann. The suspected murderer was swiftyly arrested due to the cooperation of he Lebanese Embassy, stressed Haimeder. In a press release, the embassy of Lebanon thanked authorities for their cooperation and professionalism. The ambassador, who was outside Austria during the murder, immediately canceled his vacation. Both sides emphasized that there was no political motive in the crime. The murder was discovered at the residence of Lebanese ambassador Tuesday at around 10:30 in the morning. The 50-year-old Filipina cook of the diplomat found Basalo with multiple stab wounds in the neck and chest. The final autopsy report will be completed later. – ABS
