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FAMILY OF SLAIN FILIPINA IN CONNECTICUT THANKS NEW YORK CONSULATE FOR ACTION TAKEN

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE - NEWS RELEASE
21 September 2006

NEW YORK --- The family of the late Elizabeth Reynes, 45, the Filipino hotel housekeeper who was strangled to death by a male co-worker at Bestway Inn and Suites in Groton, Connecticut, on June 30, expressed great appreciation to the Philippine Consulate General in New York for its “thoughtfulness” and assistance. In a Thank-You note hand-delivered to Consul General Cecilia Rebong by Minda Imperial, aunt of the deceased, Elizabeth Reynes’ family wrote:

“Thank you so much for making life a little easier by the monetary assistance you’ve extended to us. I truly appreciate what you did for my family and to Elizabeth Reynes’ family.

“Your thoughtfulness and kind assistance have really made a difference . . . . Maraming Salamat!”

The Philippine Government through the Consulate General in New York helped pay for the cremation expenses of the remains of Elizabeth Reynes roughly amounting to more than Two Thousand Dollars (US$2,000.00), after her grieving family and friends expressed their inability to raise the said amount.

The Consulate General first learned about the death of Elizabeth through a friend of Elizabeth’s aunt, Minda Imperial. Immediately after learning of the unfortunate incident, Consul General Rebong dispatched Consul Edgar Badajos to Groton, Connecticut, to inquire as to how the Consulate General in New York could be of help. At the time, Elizabeth’s remains were kept in a freezer at Wallingford Funeral Home awaiting cremation. When the Consulate General learned that the family of Elizabeth was unable to raise the funds needed for cremation, it immediately requested, and successfully obtained, financial assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila on behalf of the family of the deceased. The remains of Elizabeth were later cremated and brought back to the Philippines by a relative.

The murder-suspect, a male co-worker of Elizabeth at the hotel, was arrested by Connecticut police hours after Elizabeth’s lifeless body was discovered. He remains in jail pending trial for murder.