.jpg){kind=small}
INTRODUCTION
One of the most common questions I’m asked when people find out I host The Red Treehouse is “do you believe in ghosts?” For me, the answer is pretty straightforward—“yes, I do.” But, lately—and you’ll understand why in a moment—I’ve been asking myself “would you want to come back as a ghost” And for me, that answer is not as straightforward—“I’m not sure.” What about you—if you believe in ghosts, would you want to come back as one?
If you answered “no,” let me ask another question: if your death was the result of a violent crime, would you want to come back as a ghost if it meant you could solve your own murder? The question sounds outrageous—but it’s really at the core of the story of Teresita Basa—a woman, who in the 1970s, was the victim of a horrifying and violent crime. After months of investigating leads, the trail went cold—until Teresita’s spirit showed up and helped solve her own murder.
That sentence sounds outrageous—but it seems that’s exactly what happened.
In this episode of The Red Treehouse, we’re going to explore the tragic—and mystifying—case of Teresita Basa. Did her spirit really come back from the grave to solve her own murder? Or was there a more natural—and insidious—explanation?
I’ll share the story. You decide for yourself.
I’m your host, Will. Welcome to The Red Treehouse.
THE MYSTIFYING CASE OF TERESITA BASA
Teresita Basa was born in 1929 in the city of Dumaguete, Philippines, to parents Pedro and Socorro Basa—successful business owners who doted on their only child. Growing up, it is said Teresita was smart and she developed a passion for music when she was young. Teresita loved playing the piano and listening to her parents’ vinyl records—and it started a lifelong obsession with music.
When Teresita was a teenager, WWII closed in on her doorstep when Japan invaded the Philippines in 1942; and all of a sudden, life changed drastically. After completing her secondary education, Teresita moved to Manila where she studied music at the University of Assumption. After graduation, she moved to London to pursue a graduate degree and continue her pursuit of a music career. Within two years, Teresita completed her studies and toured Europe with several close friends, and in short time, a mentor encouraged her to pursue her music career in the United States.
In 1957, when Teresita was 28 years old, she moved to Bloomington, Indiana before eventually moving to Washington, DC, where she worked as a typist. While there, she struck up a romance with Edward O’Meara, a lobbyist. But, in 1965, Teresita was forced to move back to the Philippines after her work visa expired. Edward visited her from time to time, but the relationship ended when Teresita’s father, Pedro, discovered Edward at one of the local brothels. For the next few years, Teresita taught piano in Dumaguete; though, eventually she returned to the United States.
In 1971, when Teresita was 42 years old, she moved to Chicago, Illinois and with the help of the Consulate, found an apartment on Mozart St. She also returned to working as a typist and pursued both music education and a music career. At this point, Teresita recognized the difficulty of trying to break into the music industry, so she switched career paths and enrolled in the Respiratory Therapy Program at a local community college. She graduated two years later and began working as a respiratory therapist at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago.
Life was improving dramatically for Teresita—a great job with better pay, a blossoming social life, and a bigger apartment. She moved from Mozart St. to the Pine Grove apartment building, where she lived on the 15th floor. With more space, Teresita purchased an electric organ and started a music band with a few co-workers and her cousin—the band was named Mahogany 5+1. At this stage of her life, Teresita was content with her career and social life—and did not have any romantic interests. Mahogany 5+1 played shows across the area and Teresita enjoyed hosting her friends for small gatherings and parties.
In fact, in 1975, Teresita received a letter from Robert Krause—an old pen pal—letting her know he would be in town and that he would like to take her out to dinner. Teresita agreed—but only if two friends could join them. It’s not known if Teresita brought them for safety or to not send mixed messages. Either way, the four went out to dinner and had an enjoyable time.
Sometime in early 1977, Mahogany 5+1 was undergoing a change in the group—the band’s drummer, was likely going to leave the band, leaving Teresita worried because they had an upcoming show. On February 21, 1977, Teresita was getting ready to leave Edgewater Hospital after completing her shift, when she was approached by her friend, Allan Showery. The two caught the bus as they lived near each other. While en route, Teresita mentioned two seemingly insignificant details:
1. Her television wasn’t working.
2. Her band, Mahogany 5+1, was likely going to need a new drummer.
Allan Showery explained to Teresita that he was a bit of a handyman and offered to come by her apartment later that evening to look at it. And he mentioned he was a drummer and offered to fill in for Mahogany 5+1. Her anxiety eased; Teresita invited Allan to come to one of their live shows to hear their style of music and see if he would be a good fit to fill in. Allan expressed interest but commented that he likely couldn’t afford a ticket as money was tight. Teresita told him not to worry and offered to get him a ticket—which he could pick up later that evening when he came by to look at the television set. The two then split up, with each going to their apartment.
The timeline from here is important.
Sometime around 7pm, Teresita called her friend and fellow Mahogany 5+1 bandmate, Dr. John Abella. She mentioned to him the possibility of Allan filling in as a drummer. The conversation lasted about 10 minutes before the two hung up. A short time later, around 730pm, Teresita’s friend, Ruth Loeb, called and they spoke for about 20 minutes before Teresita mentioned having a male friend coming over shortly. The two then hung up.
Sometime around 840pm, Teresita’s neighbors noticed a burning smell; and thinking it was coming from inside their apartment, checked to make sure the stove and oven were both turned off. Realizing the smell was coming from outside their apartment, the two investigated the hallway—and found smoke quickly filling the area. The neighbors, Catherine and Madrid Naz, alerted neighbors to the smoke, contacted maintenance about the fire, and called the fire department.
When firefighters arrived, they quickly discovered the smoke was coming from Teresita’s apartment; and upon entering, noticed the place was a mess. They also took note of something unusual—the smoke was coming from a fire in the living room, and it appeared someone had placed a mattress on the floor and set it on fire.
Then, they noticed something else—a human leg sticking out from underneath the mattress.
When firefighters moved the mattress, they found the body of Teresita Basa.
A content warning before we continue: the following contains graphic descriptions of assault and murder. Listener discretion is advised.
Upon finding her body, firefighters discovered a gruesome crime scene—Teresita was naked and had been stabbed in the chest with a large kitchen knife. The mattress was then placed on top of her and set ablaze. Initially, it appeared Teresita had been raped, murdered, and set on fire. Investigators were quickly called to the scene, and it was determined some of the debris underneath the mattress had protected Teresita’s body was being engulfed in flames.
The scene seemed odd, and detectives realized the locks on Teresita’s front door were unbroken—indicating whoever murdered Teresita didn’t force their way into the apartment and likely knew her. Evidence at the crime scene indicated Teresita was the victim of rape, but they would have to wait until the autopsy to know for sure. While looking around her apartment, they found one piece of evidence—a cryptic note that read, “Get theater tickets for A.S.”
Teresita’s autopsy revealed more than was initially thought—though the mattress and clothing prevented Teresita from being overtaken by the fire, she did suffer burns to her arms, and head; and the medical examiner discovered “that beneath the charred skin of her neck, there was evidence of blood pooling near her throat and fractured larynx.” This led investigators to believe Teresita was strangled before being set on fire. The ME also determined Teresita was not sexually assaulted and that the crime scene had been staged as if she was to throw off investigators.
In the days and weeks following Teresita’s murder, investigators reached out to her family and friends, hoping someone could identify a person of interest—or at the very least, A.S. But no matter how hard they worked; every lead became a dead end. Teresita had no enemies, and by all accounts, was loved by friends, family, and coworkers alike.
And before long, the case quickly turned cold.
In the months following Teresita’s death, Remibusa Chua—who went by the nickname, Remi—experienced deep grief over her murder. Though the two were coworkers, they were not close and did not socialize outside of work, so it struck everyone as odd that she was so affected. Except, Remi’s behavior bordered on obsession.
In July 1977, Remi was sitting in the break room at the hospital; and as a few coworkers made their way to the room, she ran out of the room. When they peeked into the room, there was no one there and no reason for her to have run out so quickly. That night, Remi told her husband, Dr. Jose Chua—a surgeon at Edgewater Hospital—when she was sitting in the break room, she saw the ghost of Teresita Basa appear before her eyes.
This was strange, for sure.
But there was something even more strange—after witnessing Teresita’s ghost, Remi’s behavior seemed to change. She spoke about Teresita constantly, revealed personal details, hosted parties, and socialized more often.
Her behaviors seemed to mimic Teresita’s, which upset Remi’s coworkers. The situation came to a head when she complained of a hostile work environment—and was subsequently fired for insubordination.
Sometime after, while at home, Remi complained of fatigue and headed back to the bedroom. A short time later, Jose went back to check on her—and found her in bed, on her back, staring straight at the ceiling. He asked if she was okay but got no response. He asked again; but Remi didn’t say anything.
Then Remi spoke—first in English, then in Tagalog (the native language of the Philippines).
She said, “Mama, are you there?”
Jose was confused by what was happening, especially since the voice coming out of Remi did not belong to her. He asked her “who are you?”
Then, Remi, still staring at the ceiling, said to her husband, “I am Teresita Basa.” After saying this, she turned to face Jose, and said, “Dr. Chua, I would like to ask for your help. The man who murdered me is still at large.”
A few minutes later, Remi came out of her trance—completely unaware of what had just happened.
A few weeks later, Remi was on the phone, when she suddenly put the phone in Jose’s hand, stating she was going back to the bedroom. Jose took the phone and informed the caller Remi would call them back later. He then went to the bedroom, where again he found Remi in a trance-like state, lying on her back on the bed, eyes staring up at the ceiling. Like before, the voice identified itself as Teresita Basa; and like before, was not Remi’s natural voice.
Except this time, the voice claimed to know who killed her: Allan Showery.
This time, the Chua’s were uncertain about what to do—it seemed impossible for them to walk into a police station, share the information about Allan Showery, and tell detectives Remi had been possessed by Teresita’s spirit. So, for the time being, they kept the information to themselves.
Until, Teresita appeared again—this time telling Jose that Allan had robbed her home. One article stated, “Showery had stolen Teresita’s jewelry on the night he murdered her, and had given it to his girlfriend. Even better, it was very easily identifiable jewelry. Teresita’s father had bought that specific jewelry for her mother, a lovely gift from France. Teresita’s mother, in turn, had given it to her daughter. There were family members who were well aware of the jewelry and its provenance, and Teresita-Remi gave very precise information on names and contact information of the family members who would be able to identify those pieces.”
And there was something else: Teresita-Remi disclosed she had not been sexually assaulted—a detail kept from the public.
With this new information, the Chua’s reached out to police by way of the Philippine Consulate.
The lead detective, Joseph Stachula, listened as the Chua’s shared their bizarre and mystifying story. The connection between the note in Teresita’s apartment and the now-person of interest, Allan Showery, had been made. And, their interest was further piqued, when they discovered Showery had prior convictions for robbery and sexual assault.
Police questioned Allan Showery, who denied going to Teresita’s apartment and claimed he’d been home with his girlfriend at the time of her murder. They took him to the police station for further questioning and revealed they knew he was supposed to go to Teresita’s apartment to fix her television.
Then, Allan Showery’s story changed.
He admitted going to Teresita’s apartment to look at her television, but stated he didn’t fix it because it was beyond his ability as a handyman. He then claimed he left quickly and returned home to work on a few electrical problems at his house. With Showery now claiming a new alibi, police questioned his girlfriend, Yanka, who denied they had electrical problems and refuted Allan’s claims.
Sensing Yanka would be helpful, they asked if Allan had given her any jewelry; and she acknowledged he’d given her jewelry in February, as a late Christmas gift. February—the same month Teresita had been robbed and murdered. Police had Yanka bring the jewelry to the police station, where Teresita’s relatives confirmed they were the same pieces stolen from her apartment the night she was murdered.
Once again, Allan Showery’s story changed.
This time, he confessed to killing Teresita.
According to Showery, he went to Teresita’s apartment and planned to rob her. He’d fallen behind on his bills and was struggling financially, so he planned a robbery under the guise of helping fix her television. As soon as Teresita let him in and closed the door, he strangled and stabbed her before staging the scene to look as though the crime was sexually motivated.
Then, convinced Teresita had a lot of money, he searched the apartment for cash.
He took the jewelry and $30.
After initially confessing, Allan Showery eventually withdrew it—entering a not guilty plea and forcing a trial by jury. As both sides prepared, accusations against the Chua’s came to the forefront. Remi was accused of fraud and faking the trances and possession “because she had been fired from the hospital.” There were also some who believed Remi may have had something to do with the murder and came forward only after fighting a guilty conscience. Her story seemed too perfect and tidy—they believed she knew too much to have not been involved. After presenting the evidence, the jury went into deliberations—and they spent hours going back and forth before declaring a hung jury.
The jury was divided—they could not find Allan guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A second trial was scheduled.
But some time between the end of the first trial and the start of the second trial, Allan Showery pled guilty to the murder of Teresita Basa. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but only served four years before being released on parole in 1983.
To this day, no one is sure what compelled Allan Showery to change his plea, though some believe Teresita Basa haunted him while he was in custody.
Remi Chua never had a visitation from Teresita Basa again.
CONCLUSION
I’ll admit: this case intrigues and creeps me the hell out. I first heard this case a few weeks back during a late-night painting of my bedroom. I was upstairs, alone in the house with the dogs; and I had to run downstairs to make sure the doors were locked, and the lights were on. I don’t get creeped out by much, but this one had me looking over my shoulder repeatedly.
And, of course, I knew it was a perfect story for The Red Treehouse. I’m not sure what to think about this case—I truly believe in possession and don’t doubt the Chua’s experience; but, man, this case is just so outside a normal case of possession. And though this isn’t a case of malevolent demonic possession, it’s no less scary. At the start, I asked if you would want to come back as a ghost. I think if I was the victim of a violent crime, I would want to come back and do exactly what Teresita Basa appeared to have done. What about you?
As we close this episode of The Red Treehouse, we’re left with these lingering questions: Did her spirit really come back from the grave to solve her own murder? Or was there a more natural—and insidious—explanation?
I’ve shared the story. Now you decide for yourself.
I’m your host, Will. Thanks for joining me in The Red Treehouse.
SOURCES
https://jimharold.com/the-strange-and-sad-case-of-teresita-basa-by-em-hilker/
Lights Out: She Solved Her Own Murder from Beyond the Grave. Mile Higher Media
Comments