Suspect in motel murder found dead in Pasay home

Guilt may have driven a 30-year-old talent scout to commit suicide nine hours after allegedly killing his live-in partner inside a motel room last Sunday evening in Pasay City.

Police Inspector Aquilino Almanza, Pasay City-Criminal Investigation Division chief, said they found Gray Hill Fabillar dead at his apartment on E. Flores street in Malibay, Pasay City. He was discovered inside a plastic water drum with a gunshot wound in the left temple.

Almanza said Fabillar was the primary suspect in the murder of Leah Soldivilla, 26, a dancer who was found lying in a pool of blood inside Room 59 of the Mahal Kita Drive-in Lodge located along Cuneta Avenue, corner Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

Police Senior Inspector Emma Galero, crime scene investigation chief, said the victim, who had been working in Japan, was said to have found out that Fabillar often beat her two children until her mother took them to Taguig.

"When she arrived from Japan two days ago, she no longer went back to her partner’s apartment in Pasay City and instead proceeded to her mother’s house in Taguig. But her relatives informed her that she needed to see Fabillar to get back her Artist’s Record Book (ARB), which is why they met that Sunday," Galero said.

Investigation conducted by PO3 Reynaldo Aguba revealed that Soldivilla and Fabillar entered the motel room at around 2 p.m. last Sunday. But when roomboy Rogelio Piodina went to check on the couple at around 10 p.m., she was already dead with a deep hack wound in the neck and contusions in the head.

Police said there were bloodstains on the 15-inch combat knife. They also discovered a 17-inch lead pipe. The suspect left behind a certificate from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority inside a black bag.

"The suspect did not inform the hotel staff of his departure when he left the room before 10 p.m. Aguba visited Fabillar’s house at around midnight, but he was not there," Almanza said.

At 6:30 a.m. yesterday, the CID learned that Fabillar’s body was disovered by the apartment owner inside a water container. Fabillar was wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Also found were two knives and a caliber .45 Colt pistol with seven bullets.

Aguba said the suspect may have taken his own life to atone for the murder he committed. Almanza said Fabillar must have also realized "he would not escape arrest and there was no bail for murder."

Galero said that even if the investigation has yet to be completed, there is sufficient evidence pointing to Fabillar as the suspect.

"We recovered from his house a lead pipe similar to that found inside the motel room. We also found a P290 receipt from the motel. There were also other documents under his name found in the motel," she said.– Evelyn Macairan