Delgado slay suspect denies involvement in crime

The prime suspect in the murder of Federico Delgado could not have been involved in the crime since "he is currently in a physically and emotionally disabled state of depression arising from the death of his mother," a statement released by his family said.

Luisito "Louie" Gonzalez was confined at the maximum security medical facility from March 7 to 18 and could not have been at the scene of the crime on March 10, according to the family’s spokesperson Apa Ongpin.

The family also denied that Gonzalez escaped from the Makati Medical Center, saying that he was transfered from the hospital basement upon the advice of his doctors, since the facility which is primarily a drug abuse rehabilitation center is not appropriate for "his condition."

"Louie is not well and will need professional care to regain his emotional equilibrium. He has no history whatsoever of violence. Neither is he a greedy person who only cares about inheritance and money," the statement read.

The family also said that the hospital staff will soon release his records of admission and discharge to prove his innocence.

Meanwhile, the Manila Police District (MPD) is set to file robbery with homicide and frustrated homicide charges against Gonzalez following reports that he is set to leave the country.

"We have strong evidence to pin him (Gonzales) down on the slay of Federico Delgado. His photo and the cartographic sketch furnished by our main witness matched," Chief Inspector Alejandro Yanquiling Jr., homicide section chief, told The STAR.

Yanquiling said the filing of the charges against Gonzalez is necessary to secure a hold departure order against him. He said he will also request the Department of Justice to place Gonzalez in the watchlist to prevent his possible escape.

According to Yanquiling, Gonzalez’s escape from confinement at the Makati Medical Center last Monday where he was reportedly undergoing "detoxification" further boost the police’s theory that he was involved in the crime.

"Flight is an admission of guilt," he said.

Gonzalez was also identified by Annalisa Peseco, 20, the girlfriend of Federico, as one of the two men who stabbed the victim last March 10 at the fourth floor of the family owned Mayflower Building at the corner of Leon Guinto and Estrada streets in Malate.

The suspects also took the cash, jewelry and valuables inside the victim’s safety vault.

Peseco, who is five months pregnant with Federico’s child, was with the victim at the time of the murder. She was also seriously mauled by the suspects but she survived and is now under police protective custody.

According to Peseco, she managed to get a good look at Gonzalez when he removed his bonnet while opening the victim’s safety vault.

Police are also looking into the possible involvement of Gonzalez’s driver-bodyguard, identified as Antonio Buenaflor, 50, in the rob-slay.

It was Buenaflor, a dismissed employee of Citadel Corp., one of the Delgados’ several business firms, who reportedly accompanied Gonzalez when he escaped from the hospital.

Gonzalez, who was reportedly close to the victim’s father, 91-year-old Don Francisco "Paco" Delgado, is one of the four children of Victoria Quirino Gonzalez from her first marriage.

Don Paco married Victoria when his first wife, with whom he has six children including the slain Federico, died.

People close to the family say that the Delgado patriarch treated Gonzalez’s children like his own.