Woman works as maid in Thailand to escape murder case

MANILA, Philippines - A woman who fled the country and found work as a maid in Thailand was deported yesterday and arrested upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), five years after she allegedly killed a female friend in Batangas.

In a report, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula identified the suspect as Christen Inagaki, 22, who used the aliases Jennylyn Contreras and Nenita Cruz. She is to be tried along with co-accused Avril Maderazo and Ralph Sarmiento before a Batangas City regional trial court for allegedly murdering Isabel Spira, 17, over a “misunderstanding.”

Records show that at 6 a.m. on Dec. 5, 2005, Inagaki, Maderazo and Sarmiento invited Spira for a “gimmick” at a restaurant in Batangas City.

Inagaki reportedly poked a knife at Spira and ordered her to walk towards the car driven by Sarmiento. Thinking it was a joke, the victim followed and entered the car.

Inside the vehicle, Inagaki and Maderazo tied the victim’s hands and feet using packing tape as Sarmiento drove the car.

Inagaki and Maderazo took turns beating Spira, then drove around. In Lemery, Batangas, the suspects reportedly dragged Spira out of the car onto a grassy lot and hit her with a hammer, leaving her for dead.

Murder charges were filed against the suspects. Maderazo and Sarmiento were arrested, while Inagaki went into hiding.

She applied as a domestic helper in Thailand using the name Nenita Cruz and resided in Bangkok.

The NBI coordinated with the International Police, Bangkok authorities and the Philippine embassy in Thailand to confirm Inagaki’s presence there and facilitate her deportation.

NBI-Foreign Liaison Division (FLD) chief Claro de Castro Jr. said agents from his division went to Bangkok on Aug. 19 after coordinating with the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime-Interpol Manila.