The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Tuesday, May 11, 2010 

~ A tiny 27-year-old Filipino housekeeper had been strangled to death fighting off burglars in an upscale Toronto suburb where she kept watch over a huge mansion for her employers. On Tuesday, the widely-circulated Toronto Sun bannered her story that happened in 2007 and carried an account of the trial of two Ecuadorian immigrants that had begun the day before. "Maid Died a Hero," the newspaper headline screamed, instantly calling attention to the thousands of Filipinos who work as caregivers and nannies in Canada.

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Slain Filipino Housekeeper Hailed as a Hero for Preventing Burglary

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)

and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

T ORONTO, Canada - A 27-year-old Filipino housekeeper who was killed fighting off burglars is being hailed here as a "hero," her tragic story bannered Tuesday (May 11, 2010) by the widely-circulated Toronto Sun.

The brutal slaying of Jocelyn Dulnuan, a native of Cagayan province in northern Philippines, in her employers mansion in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga in 2007, has highlighted the risks and dangers facing Filipino caregivers.

Toronto, capital of Ontario province, has the biggest Filipino population in all of Canada, running into over 250,000. A significant chunk of that number works as caregivers and nannies.

Government prosecutor (referred here as Crown Attorney) Steve Sherriff said Jocelyn Dulnuan tried to protect her employer's property by valiantly putting up a fight, and managed to scratch one of the suspect's arm and chest.

A uthorities have identified and arrested two suspects – Cristian Figueroa, 37, and Fabian Loayza-Penaloza, 39 – who are both immigrants from Ecuador.

Members of the jury of 12 trying the suspects had scheduled a visit on Tuesday (May 11) to the scene of the crime, a huge mansion occupying 30,000 square foot in an upscale neighborhood in Mississauga.

Members of the media, including this reporter, had been advised by court authorities against joining the jurors during the tour of the mansion owing to concerns expressed by its owners.

At the trial's opening on Monday (May 11, 2010), Sherriff laid out the case against the suspects. He recalled the gruesome events leading to Dulnuan's death, which he said was caused by a copper wire, doubly wrapped tightly around her neck.

C rown Attorney Steve Sherriff said: "The wire around her neck was knotted and pulled very tight. The Crown's case is that the wire was a murder weapon of opportunity".

The Toronto Sun said Dulnuan "was murdered for trying to be a hero".

In his account, Sherriff said Dulnuan appeared to be in the way of the planned burglary. "As long as she was conscious, she posed a problem" for the burglars, he explained. # # #

This Currents & Breaking News is credited to Romeo P. Marquez, editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 4, Issue no. 5, May 11, 2010.