Dubai: The Filipino businesswoman who was brutally murdered and stuffed in her car trunk in August fought her attacker until the end, before succumbing to death due to cardiac arrest, Gulf News has learnt.
Lorna Lim Varona, 51, was found dead inside her car at Sharjah Industrial Area 2 on August 31 with six stab wounds. A family friend reportedly confessed to the crime and is currently being detained by the police.
“We already had an idea that my mum died violently. But when we saw her death certificate, it confirmed everything,” Maria Lourdes, Lorna’s eldest daughter, told Gulf News.
Based on the death certificate, the attacker stabbed Lorna mainly on her chest and abdomen. She also had a fractured rib and punctured lungs which bled internally.
Known to have a reputation of being a feisty woman, it came as no surprise to the Varona family to see defensive marks on Lorna’s body particularly on her left palm which had a big cut.
This, the family thought, could mean that Lorna might have held off the murder weapon to defend herself during the attack.
“After reading the report, I told my dad that mum really fought her attacker based on the wounds that she sustained and knowing the kind of person that she was. My mum’s tolerance for pain is high. So I am certain that she fought until the end, maybe until her heart stopped beating,” Lourdes said.
“But we are relieved now knowing that we can finally bring her home and lay her to rest,” she added.
Lorna’s remains will be repatriated to the Philippines on Wednesday. Her husband, Pablo, will take her home on board an Emirates flight.
Their two daughters, Lourdes and Maria Liza, will fly to the Philippines on the same day. They will join the rest of the family, including the two sons Joseph Luke and Joseph Louis who are in-charge of the preparations for their mum’s funeral arrangements.
On her Facebook page, Lourdes wrote that their arrival in Manila is just in time for their mum’s 40th day of death, which is a significant day for Roman Catholics, especially Filipinos.
On this day, it is believed that the soul of the repose receives judgement from God.
The closed casket wake will be at Funeraria Paz in Manila Memorial Park, Paranaque, a city south of Manila, from October 4 to 7.
Lorna’s funeral is scheduled on October 8 at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque.
