Probers eye 4 persons of interest in King’s slay

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine National Police Special Investigation Task Group created to investigate the murder of businessman Richard King has narrowed down to four persons of interest who could be behind the hotelier’s death in Davao City last week.

 The task group is also zeroing in on business and personal grudge as possible motives including the alleged land grabbing incident in Boracay.

The members of the investigating team yesterday held its case conference in Cebu with no less than the second highest official of the PNP in attendance.

Deputy Director General Felipe Rojas, PNP director for administration in Camp Crame, personally supervised the conference. Also in attendance were representatives from the Police Regional Office-7, PRO-6, PRO-11, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-11, and Davao City Police Office.

Rojas said he will be personally involved in the investigation after President Benigno Aquino III issued a marching order last week to solve the high profile killings in the country, including that of King’s.

Rojas said they have three to four persons of interest as of the moment but refused to give further details.

According to Rojas, the Boracay land grabbing incident, business, and personal grudge might have caused his death.

“Behind that gunman there is a mastermind, yun ang tinitingnan natin,” Rojas said.

Rojas believes that the P1.3 million reward for anyone who can provide information that would lead to the solution of the case could be of great help. He appealed to the public to help them by giving information on the whereabouts of the gunman.

The investigators are now doing a cross-matching of the empty shells and the slugs recovered from the crime scene with the PNP ballistics information system to check if the weapon used in King’s murder was also used in other crimes.

King was shot dead inside his own building in Davao City Thursday evening while having a meeting with his employees. — /FPL (FREEMAN)