The police have identified one of three men whose bodies were discovered in separate locations in Talisay City.
Investigators are still working to determine the identities of the two others and the circumstances behind their deaths.
The victim was identified as Mars Relles, 48, of Villa Soledad, Brgy. Estefania, Bacolod City. His body was found around 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10, the Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region reported.
Maj. Rhazl Jim Jocson, Talisay City deputy police chief, said Relles had been a previous victim of a stabbing incident in March in Brgy. Estefania, and had served 10 years at the Bacolod City Jail for alleged murder and gun violation charges.
The police are still waiting for the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) findings on his cause of death and whether Relles was killed in the area or his body was dumped there.
One was found in Hacienda San Isidro, Barangay Concepcion, near an abandoned motorcycle and helmet.
The victim, believed to be 45 to 50 years old, was wearing a blue T-shirt, maong shorts, and green slippers.
The third victim, found in Hacienda Minuluan, Barangay Matab-ang, was in an advanced state of decomposition and is believed to have been dead for about a month, with skeletal parts already visible.
The Police Regional Office–NIR has formed a Special Investigation Task Force to probe the case.
PRO NIR director BGen. Arnold Thomas Ibay called the incident “deeply concerning” and vowed a thorough, methodical, and coordinated investigation, working with forensic experts to identify the victims and uncover the circumstances of their deaths.*