Cops eye 5 suspects in ‘womanizing’ vendor’s slay

MANILA, Philippines - Police officers are investigating at least five suspects in the murder of a meat vendor at a public market in Polo, Valenzuela last May 29, a source said yesterday.

Among the possible suspects in the death of Danilo Diaz are his parents-in-law, his wife, his wife’s alleged lover, and his mistress’ reported boyfriend, the official said, adding that the victim was reported to be a “womanizer.”

Based on a surveillance video obtained by the police, four men “participated” in Diaz’s murder – the gunman, the lookout, the gunman’s driver, and the “principal, who immediately left before the killing was executed,” according to a police report obtained by The STAR.

Diaz was shot from behind as he was opening his stall at the Polo public market at around 7 a.m. on May 29.

According to a source privy to the investigation, Diaz was killed days after he left his wife to be with his mistress. The wife’s parents asked the meat vendor not to leave their daughter, “but the victim chose to stay with the mistress,” the source told The STAR.

The insider said investigators initially considered only Diaz’s wife and her parents as possible suspects, but a deeper probe revealed that the wife reportedly has a lover and that Diaz’s mistress has an “older boyfriend who gives her money.”

Diaz’s wife and parents-in-law could be considered suspects because “they may have been offended when he chose his mistress,” the source said.

The wife’s alleged lover may also be a suspect because “at the time he died she would not go with her lover.”

The mistress’ boyfriend would have the motive to kill Diaz, “who had been giving the woman money, and the victim may have found out that she has been unfaithful to him.”