New Year’s Eve slay suspect caught in Malabon

A man who allegedly stabbed his neighbor to death on New Year’s Eve was arrested when he returned to the scene of the crime in Malabon City yesterday.

Chief Inspector Romeo Odrada, Station Investigation and Detective Management Bureau chief, said David Donceras, 30, of Barangay Longos was arrested at around 10:30 a.m.

Odrada said the victim’s relatives spotted Donceras in the neighborhood and called the police for assistance.

Donceras was cornered after a brief chase when he entered another man’s house to hide there. An improvised nine-inch knife – believed to have been used in the fatal stabbing of Emilio Reveche a few minutes before the New Year – was found in Donceras’ possession.

Witnesses and Reveche’s relatives said Donceras stabbed Reveche several times in front of a neighborhood store before escaping.

Odrada said Donceras, reportedly a notorious character in the neighborhood, was previously arrested for the robbery-slaying of an Indian national in Longos in 2005. The case was dismissed for lack of interest after the complainants failed to pursue the case. – Jerry Botial