Suspect in 2007 'suitcase girl' murder falls

MANILA, Philippines - A man suspected of kidnapping and killing a seven-year-old girl, then stuffing her body in a suitcase, in 2007 was arrested in Tondo, Manila Monday night.

Pedicab driver Rafael Nepa, 30, was among those apprehended in an anti-crime drive at Isla Puting Bato in Tondo. The drive was conducted by policemen from Manila Police District (MPD) Station 2, led by Senior Inpector Roberto Manguera, specifically to flush out Nepa after he was seen in the area.

He was arrested based on a warrant of arrest issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 43 Judge Roy Gironella in connection with the killing of Geraldine Palma, whose body was put in a suitcase that was found floating in Manila Bay near Isla Puting Bato on Aug. 16, 2007.

Palma and her nanny, Maritess Ontog, went missing while they were on their way to a tutorial center in Pasig City on Aug. 11, 2007.

Palma’s abductors called up her family to demand P10 million for the girl’s release. The family agreed to deliver a lower amount, but the kidnappers were not at the place they were supposed to meet.

A week after the kidnapping, an unidentified girl was found in a suitcase floating in Manila Bay. It was in 2009 that the girl was identified through DNA testing as Palma.

The test also revealed that while Palma is Felma Estravela’s daughter, she is not the biological child of the man she knew as her father, Gerald Palma.

Recapture

Nepa was arrested in 2007 after witnesses saw him carrying a suitcase similar to the one in which the girl was found before the crime was discovered.

The Manila prosecutor’s office ordered Nepa released for lack of evidence.

Nepa denied the allegation, saying the Human Rights Commission recommended the release after he was allegedly tortured by arresting officers to admit the crime.

The judge issued a warrant of arrest on Jan. 19, 2011 after others arrested in connection with the kidnapping linked Nepa to the crime.

MPD warrant section chief Inspector Elias Dematera said Nepa went into hiding after learning of the warrant and resurfaced only to help his family after a fire in Isla Puting Bato left them homeless last month.