Call center slay suspect charged

Cebu - A murder charge was lodged before the City Prosecutors Office yesterday against the principal suspect in the killing of a call center employee two weeks ago.

Mandaue City police filed the complaint against Jonnelle Enfectana, a close friend and co-worker of TeleTech Call Center supervisor Lynn Vi Ebarita, soon after the Mandaue Hall of Justice opened at 8 a.m.

During the inquest proceedings, the police presented to City Fiscal Bienvinido Mabanto the affidavits of witnesses that could prove that Ebarita, Enfectana and another woman, who was also believed to be “involved” in the crime, were together prior to the killing.

Based on the account of the first three witnesses, at 12 p.m. on January 18, Enfectana called up the victim and asked her to bring the three cellular phones that were left in their house in barangay Cubacub and bring it to their Sinulog booth at the Fuente Osmena.

Ebarita, together with two others arrived with the phones at around 5 p.m. but left in a few while to have dinner with her two com

panions and returned at 6:30 p.m. Later, Enfectana arrived with a female companion, whom she introduced as her cousin named as certain “Evelyn.”

Enfectana told Ebarita that someone has invited them for a drinking spree and they left the booth at 8:45 p.m.

On the same date, at around 9:30 p.m., three other witnesses who are friends of both Ebarita and Enfectana said that they saw both the suspect and the victim together with a woman whom they did not know standing along the road. Ebarita allegedly called the witnesses’ attention and during their conversation, she introduced to them Evelyn also as her cousin.

The witnesses said they were amazed because it was almost 10 p.m. and Evelyn was still wearing a fisherman’s hat and black sunglasses making them think she was a peculiar lady. They also observed that Enfectana appeared bothered during the meeting.

At the police station, where they were shown a cartographic sketch of the suspect who registered at the Nekkei Garden Hotel as Tina Panganiban, the witnesses said they recognized that the sketch was the same woman that Enfectana introduced to them as her cousin.

During the inquest proceedings, police said that among the other circumstantial evidences is that they believed Ebarita’s cell phone was with Enfectana because the victim’s officemates were still receiving text messages from her even if she was believed to be dead already. Police suspected the text messages came from the suspect who pretended to be the victim to misled and delay the discovery of the brutal killing.

And because she has the victim’s cell phone, police said the suspect also pretended as Ebarita during a chat with victim’s boyfriend and use the “codename” which only Ebarita and her boyfriend knew.

The victim’s US based Fil-Am boyfriend also doubted that his girlfriend’s cell phone was with the suspect, and it is from where Enfectana knew the “name,” which he and the victim call each other when they chat or exchange text messages.

During the inquest, Enfectana also denied that she asked for a “police protection” contrary to what was earlier recorder in the police blotter that she asked for it after she allegedly received a death threat.

PO3 Protacio Tago said they granted Enfectana’s wish for a police escort as they also wanted to protect her after she received a “threat.” But they later learned that the suspect’s cellular phone was dual SIM and she just used her other number and sent the threat herself.

Police said Enfectana was arrested after they found out that the victim’s wallet was in her possession last January 28, but denied the suspect was restricted of her freedom to go out prior to that dates.

Enfectana’s lawyer Michael Enriquez questioned the way his client, saying it was a warrant-less arrest as it was no longer part of a hot pursuit operation. Mabanto, however, said it his office will be the one to determine whether the arrest was illegal or not.

Enriquez also objected to the number of hours before his client was brought to the fiscal’s office for the inquest.

Mabanto explained to him that the 36-hour reglamentary period is not consist of continuous hours but refers to the time that the fiscal is holding office. “Don’t expect me to be here at dawn,” he said. — /WAB (THE FREEMAN)