Taguig slay suspects fall

After only three days, the gruesome killing of a family of three and their maid in Taguig City has been solved following the arrest of the suspected mastermind and his three cohorts, police said yesterday.

A police task force formed to solve the massacre presented to media men the suspects identified as Albert Leonor, 22; Eduard Ave, 32, alias Digs; Joseph Georfo, 24, alias Jojo; and Jeffrey Prima, 18, alias Buboy, who were arrested in succession during a series of operations the other night.

City police chief Superintendent Ramon Reyes said the first to be arrested was Leonor, a former worker at the victim’s bakery, voluntarily went to the police station to clarify his name after he learned that he was being implicated.

It was during tactical interrogation when the suspect admitted his participation in the killing of businesswoman Hayda Napura, 44; his husband Antonio, 55; their daughter Haidee, 3; and housemaid Tata Nieves, 18, whose bodies were found at around 6 p.m. in separate rooms of their house on ISG Village in Barangay Sto. Nino last Sunday.

Leonor claimed he only served as lookout even if police tagged him as the mastermind because of his motive, which was discovered during investigation.

Reyes told reporters that Leonor was fired by the victims for being tardy and indolent last February at a time when he was planning to marry his pregnant girlfriend.

A relative of the victims told investigators that the suspect pleaded with Mrs. Napura to hire him back, but she refused.

"Pagkakakwento sa akin, may kakaibang ugali yan. Kapag ginusto niyang hindi pumasok, hindi talaga siya papasok. Minsan pa nga nahuli daw ni Ate nakatulala siya tapos bigla nalang tatawa," one witness said.

Police said they were unable to talk to Leonor’s fiancé, but found out that the suspect arrived at their house in San Francisco, Bulacan on the same day the victims were found dead.

City Councilor Henry Dueñas, head of the council’s committee on peace and order that joined the investigating team, said the woman also admitted that Leonor suddenly came up with the finances needed for their wedding and even gave her P6,000 cash and a pair of wedding rings.

Dueñas added that the suspect was also seen suspiciously washing his shorts when he still had a lot of clothes available. Authorities were able to recover the shorts, which still had traces of blood.

Police said the three other suspects, who were tagged by Leonor as his cohorts, were arrested in separate operations in Tanauan, Batangas and Santol, Quezon City that ended at 2 a.m. yesterday.

While all of them admitted living near the victims’ house, they denied any involvement in the killing.

Scene of the Crime Operatives were able to collect swabs from the three suspects. Their fingerprints were also taken and would be compared to those lifted from the crime scene.

Charges of multiple murder with robbery would immediately be filed against all four suspects.

The suspects had beheaded the mother, who was discovered inside the master’s bedroom and raped the housemaid before killing her in another room.

Since the start of the investigation, the police team had been looking at two possible angles, namely: robbery and revenge.

Meanwhile, Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga commended the local police for the swift solution to the robbery-massacre case.

"We thank Metro Manila police chief Director Vidal Querol for his support in solving this crime. This case only shows that the police and the local government can work together and combat crime," Tinga stressed.