Filipina in Singapore believed to have fallen to her death after sleepwalking
A 38-year-old Filipino woman who fell to her death in Singapore is believed to have fallen from the window of her 10th storey apartment in Singapore while sleepwalking, a coroner's court reported on May 12.
Ruth Dalumpines Dulfo was found dead at the Laguna Park condominium in Marine Parade on June 7, 2021. She lived in the apartment with five other housemates and had a history of sleepwalking.
The night before her death, Dulfo's housemates said she was at a gathering in the apartment and consumed alcohol. After the gathering, which continued until the early hours of the morning, the Filipina was said to still be awake and using her phone. Her housemates, who all turned in at around 3 or 4 a.m., said that Dulfo was the last to sleep among them.
At 7:05 AM, police received a report of Dulfo's fall.
The scene
They later searched her apartment and saw three sets of windows open, including the toilet window which lined up with where her body was found. Dulfo's DNA was all over the handle and the bottom of the window.
The window was 67cm wide and 50cm high while the Filipina stood at 4'7". Investigating officer Gilbert Chow said Dulfo would have been able to pass through the window, given her stature.
Sleep neurologist Dr. Pavanni Ratnagopal testified on the first day of a coroner's inquiry on Dulfo's death that the Filipina possibly could have been sleepwalking prior to her death even though climbing windows is considered a "complex action."
Other possibilities
Police have said that there was no foul play involved in Dulfo's case. She was described as a jovial person by her peers and no suicide note was found in her diary that was seized by the police.
A potential concern that witnesses raised was a co-payment of some P20,000 expected from her for her family's in the Philippines. Dulfo reportedly asked her manager for an advance to send to her family.
Before her death, the Filipina sent a message to her mom asking if she was okay.
Dulfo came to Singapore in 2009 and was working at a cafe at the time of her death.