Ex-beauty queen shot dead in Dumaguete

A former beauty queen was shot dead while giving instructions to a group of Miss Gay contestants last weekend in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. Annrose Fe Bernadette Neri, 25, was shot by an unidentified assailant using a caliber .45 pistol, the Visayan Daily Star (www.visayandailystar.com) reported Monday. The incident occurred at 11:15 p.m. Friday, at the Kiwanis Stage near the Traffic Management Office at Quezon Park in Dumaguete City, initial investigation showed. The victim was with her friends and sister Charisse at the Miss Gay rehearsal, when an unidentified gunman approached and shot her twice, police said. Bullets entered the right side of her body that exited on the left side. Neri, whose beauty titles include being Miss Dumaguete 2007, Miss Sibulan 2001, Hara sa Foundation University, Miss FU High School, and Buglasan Queen, was brought to the Holy Child Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Witnesses told the police the lone gunman wore a black polo shirt and camouflage pants, and was in his late 30s. After the shooting, the perpetrator casually walked back to his TMX motorcycle which had no plate number, and sped away from the crime scene, police said. Police said Neri had reportedly received threats to her life before the shooting, and had been advised by her relatives to leave the city. Her mother said that three weeks ago, a motorcycle-riding man threatened her with bodily harm. Police are also investigating the love angle, as the victim was allegedly having an affair with a politician, who had given her a car. The victim’s car also got burned, police added. Before the incident, Neri had also reported to the police the smashing of the windows of her Kia Sportage vehicle. Suspects remain unknown up to this time. The police also found out that Neri was maintaining an amateur basketball team called “Vhonrey," which is named after her son. The victim allegedly also has a boyfriend in the team. Mayor Agustin Perdices expressed alarm over the murder and ordered the police to use all available resources to pin down the perpetrator. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV