By Henni Espinosa, ABS-CBN North America Bureau
Vallejo, California – Filipino-American leaders gathered to think of ways to help the relatives of slain Filipina, 63-year old Segundina Tablate-Allen.
Allen and a Filipina friend Macaria Smart were found dead in Allen’s home last Tuesday. The suspect in their killing is another Filipino, Efren Valdemoro, who was a tenant and a close friend of Allen’s.
Fil-Am leaders of Solano County said this is the worst crime involving Filipinos in recent history. Dr. Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Vice-President of the Solano County Board of Education said, “the community is figuring out what happened. How can we prevent something like this from happening again?”
“We are shocked with what happened. So we thought of ways to help out,” added Eloise Scott-Lee of the Filipino Community of Solano County.
Allen’s sister and nephew went to ABS-CBN in Manila to seek help from the community. The family said they don’t have the means to bring her body back to the Philippines, which costs thousand of dollars. Caridad Tablate-Limpiado said Allen worked as a caregiver who provided for her relatives in the Philippines. “I wish we are able to come to the U.S. and find out what happened to her, why she was killed. She was a good person,” lamented Tablate-Limpiado.
Allen has no other immediate relatives in the Philippines. Her husband, Charles Rittenhouse, is in jail after being charged with possession of explosives at the time the bodies were found in their home. Last Friday, Rittenhouse pled not guilty to the charges.
He has not been charged in the killings.
Dr. Tony Ubalde, Chaplain of the Vallejo Police said, “the autopsies have been completed but it’s not public at this point. But the police wishes to have the body claimed.”
The Philippine Consulate in San Francisco said as soon as they get authorization from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, they can claim the body here and have it shipped to the Philippines, but only with the consent of Allen’s husband, Rittenhouse.
Since Allen is a U.S. citizen, the Philippine Consulate said they cannot shoulder the shipping costs of repatriating the remains. Kababayans in Vallejo said they will find a way to raise the money.
Larry Asera, former city councilmember and county supervisor said, “we set up a fund to take care of burial needs. This is a case where the family does not have the means. The county is prepared to help out.”
These Fil-Am leaders said they will also help the police who are still investigating Allen’s death.
The primary suspect, Valdemoro is dead after a police shootout last week. Rittenhouse has denied any involvement in the killing of his wife.
Search Continues
Meantime, police and volunteers are back at a landfill in Pittsburg, California to continue the search for Frederick Sales, about 20 miles away from the murder scene.
His father, Ricardo, was found dead in their home in Hercules, California last August 28. Frederick has been missing since then.
Police believe the elder Sales was also killed by Valdemoro. They fear the younger Sales may also be dead.
In Hercules, about 100 people held a candlelight vigil to mourn, not only the victims in last week’s killing spree, but the suspected killer as well.
Filipinos in Hercules offered prayers for Sales, Valdemoro’s girlfriend Cindy Tran, Allen and Smart, as well as for Valdemoro. Fil-Am organizers of the Hercules memorial hope to help the community avoid similar tragedies and start the healing process.
