KUWAIT CITY, Oct 22:  The decomposed body of an Asian woman found by police on Oct 16 on the roof , hidden in between the air conditioning units,  of Hall No 5 at the Kuwait International Fair grounds in Mishref belongs to a Filipina identified as Jenny Dechosa who has been  missing since October 10,  her housemates told  the Arab Times on Friday. This was  confirmed by the Kuwaiti sponsor of the deceased after authorities identified her positively through her fingerprints.

Dechosa, 33, married with kids and hailing from Cebu City, Philippines was working  in a salon in Salmiya. “She left our flat at around 6pm on Oct 10 because it was her day off from the salon and she was supposed to have a part time job and clean one house in Mishref, but according to the taxi driver, Jenny didn’t push through with it because the house was huge so she asked the taxi driver to bring her back to Salmiya,” recounted one of her housemates. She added that the driver dropped her at  one of the shopping malls in Salmiya where Dechosa was meeting someone.

Dechosa did not go home on that day and her housemates started to worry. “We informed her Kuwaiti sponsor that Jenny had been  missing since Sunday and her sponsor advised us to wait for 24 hours and if she didn’t  come back then he would report Jenny’s disappearance  to the authorities,” narrated another housemate. They even tried calling her and sent her text messages but they got no reply. However, on Oct 11 at night, one of her housemates got a “missed call” from Jenny’s phone. “I wasn’t able to answer it because I was in the bathroom but when I tried calling her back, her mobile had already been switched off,” she recalled.

Five days after Dechosa was reported missing, a body of an Asian woman in a state of decomposition was found in Mishref on Oct 16 and reported in the local dailies on Oct 17. “We had the feeling that maybe it could be her but we held on to the hope that she’s still alive and just somewhere out there,” stated one of the housemates.  Finally, one of Dechosa’s housemate’s was able to talk to the Kuwait sponsor on that day who was then at the Bayan Police Station after he was summoned by authorities for questioning.

“I asked Jenny’s sponsor, was the body found in Mishref, Jenny? Is it confirmed? He said, yes it is Jenny, authorities confirmed it after her fingerprints matched the records. Though her face is unrecognizable because according to authorities her face appeared to have been smashed by a hollow block or hard object, all other pieces of evidence confirmed that it’s Jenny, her sponsor told me,” stated one of the housemates who was in total disbelief that their housemate had such a tragic end.

After Dechosa’s body was identified, two of her colleagues at the salon were detained by the CID operatives on Oct 18 for investigation as well as the Filipino taxi driver who dropped the victim on the day she went missing and the harris (watchman) of the victim’s accommodation.

“Their Kuwaiti sponsor was not able to get Jenny’s two co-workers immediately out of the jail because their passports were not with him but with their Filipina manager who’s on vacation in the Philippines,” lamented one of their housemates.

The Arab Times tried to call the Philippine Embassy on Thursday for an update on Dechosa’s case and to check on the plight of the three detained Filipinos and Philippine Vice Consul Rea Oreta replied via text message: “The case is still with the CID and they have refused to give info as of the moment.”
The Arab Times on Thursday evening received a call from one of Dechosa’s housemates saying that the two ladies had finally been released by the authorities after being detained for four days of questioning but the Filipino taxi driver was left in the jail as the investigation into the case continues.  A reliable source also revealed to the Arab Times that some men of other nationalities, whose names were on the phone registry of the deceased, were also detained for questioning in connection to the death of Dechosa.

“We hope and pray that whoever is behind Jenny’s brutal death be put behind bars and made to pay for the heinous crime. We cry for justice for Jenny,” pointed out one of the housemates at the end of the ninth day prayer that they offered in honor of Dechosa.