Filipina murdered, beheaded in Dubai: The untold story - In an ExpatMedia.Net exclusive, husband of murdered Filipina in Dubai shares memories of the ‘headstrong, fiercely independent woman’ Ma. Normita de Lima

  DUBAI – “I will send you money in June. Please take care of the kids.” This was the last thing UAE-based Filipino expat Ma. Normita de Lima said to her husband in the Philippines, Salvio de Lima, on May 23. She wanted the money to be spent on school expenses for their 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. The start of the school year in the Philippines was just a week away in June and she knew the children would need the extra money. Two days after that phone call, Dubai police found Normita’s headless body dumped in a desert in Dubai. After a grueling three-month investigation, the murder suspect was arrested and what remained of Normita’s severed head and hands were also recovered. Police said the gruesome murder did not reflect the culture of Filipinos in the UAE. “She went abroad full of hope. She only wanted to help me with our growing finances,” Salvio told ExpatMedia.Net in a telephone interview, “Had I known this would be her fate, I would have done everything to stop her,” he said, his voice breaking. But Normita had always been a headstrong, fiercely independent woman “to the point of stubbornness”, Salvio said, “She wanted the best for the family and wouldn’t let anyone or anything stop her until she got it.” “But on the other side of her strong persona, she was a jolly and friendly person. She liked to laugh a lot,” Salvio said. Her family and extended family have always been the center of her world. “She was very hardworking. She also never tired of helping her siblings. They even called her ‘super ate’ (elder sister) because they knew they could always run to her whenever they had problems,” Salvio said.
The De Limas during better times.The De Limas during better times.
normitaThis undated photo shows Salvio and Ma. Normita De Lima with their children.
Before she landed in Dubai last year, Normita had put up a few businesses in Taguig, Metro Manila. She owned an auto spare parts shop and a salon in the bustling metropolis. She was also in the money lending business and managed a few houses for rent in Bicutan, a part of Salvio’s investment from his earnings as lieutenant of the Philippine National Police. “Part of the reason she put up those businesses was so our children would have something to be proud of,” Salvio said. “She wanted them to have the best. She even bought a Toyota Fortuner to replace our old, second hand Kia so they won’t have a hard time travelling to school.” Unfortunately, the businesses went bankrupt. The new car was also stolen, Salvio said. “On top of that, Normita encountered some unscrupulous people, including salon workers who cheated her of her earnings and someone who sold her a piece of land for 210,000 pesos using fake documents,” he said. So when Normita first broached the subject about her plan to work abroad, Salvio wasn’t surprised. He advised her to go to Vatican City. “I have a very close friend there who can help you settle in,” he remembered telling her. “She told me she was already in contact with her nephew who works in Dubai and that he was going to help her,” he said. Not too long after that, Normita landed in Dubai using a tourist visa in December, 2015. She stayed with her nephew for a while, then later moved to Abu Dhabi where she worked as a housemaid. “She had said she will save up for us first,” Salvio said, adding that the couple planned to spend their retirement travelling to Australia. “The plan was for the children to take up college education there and we would just visit them occasionally.” “That would have only been four years away,” the 52-year-old Salvio said. He had planned to retire from police service at 56 and was looking forward to their travels together. The family is still struggling with the overwhelming loss of a “beautiful soul”. “The children won’t stop crying. They often wake up in the middle of the night and just cry. I try to comfort them. ‘Don’t worry, daddy is still here’,” Salvio said. “Fate has dealt me a very cruel blow,” he said. “I’m out there enforcing an anti-drug campaign on the streets and telling people to change and preserve their life, yet my own wife was brutally taken away from me.” He wants to remember her when they were happiest. “I was just promoted in the police force. She pinned the badge on me with a big smile on her face and I remember telling her, ‘You now have a husband who is a lieutenant’.” Salvio said he has surrounded their house with the presence of relatives to drown out their sorrow. “My nephews and nieces visit regularly to keep the children company,” he said. “I am still trying to come to terms with everything that happened,” Salvio said. “I don’t understand why this happened to us.” As if in another cruel twist of fate, the suspect in the murder has been identified as Normita’s own nephew in Dubai. Police said the suspect confessed to the murder and is now awaiting trial. It’s a double blow to the family, Salvio admitted. “But I will let the law take its course,” he said.   Also read: Brutal murder of Filipina in Dubai 'not reflective of Filipino culture'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