Another Davantes slay suspect falls

MANILA, Philippines - A second suspect in the killing of ad firm executive Kristelle “Kae” Davantes was arrested last night by police officers working under Task Force Kae.

Another suspect is negotiating his surrender, according to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Superintendent Marcelo Garbo Jr.

Garbo is withholding the identity of the arrested suspect, who is in the custody of the Muntinlupa City police.

Meanwhile, the NCRPO is exploring other possible angles in the killing of Davantes despite a confession by a suspect arrested Friday night.

“While we are looking at robbery as a possible motive in this crime, we are still not ruling out other possible angles, as the crime could have been committed by amateurs,” Garbo said.

He said while 19-year-old construction worker Samuel Decimo confessed that he and his group killed Davantes during a robbery, there are still gaps in Decimo’s story.

New witness

Task Force Kae said it has in its custody a witness who was able to identify one of the men who occupied a Honda Civic that was seen on a closed-circuit television video tailing Davantes’ Toyota Altis as it left Moonwalk Subdivision on Sept. 7.

The face of one of the men in the Civic was caught on video as the car window was open, according to one of the members of the task force.

The Civic was also seen on the video entering Moonwalk 10 minutes ahead of Davantes’ Altis.

Davantes’ body was found under the bridge in Silang, Cavite on the morning of Sept. 7, several hours after she failed to return home from a night out with friends. Aside from stab wounds, she was also strangled with the cord of a cell phone charger.

Crime scene investigators found indications that Davantes’ killers took time to bring her body down the bridge and leave her in a place where she could easily be found, instead of just dumping her and fleeing immediately, as common criminals do.

Garbo said Decimo’s statement could be true but the robbery could have been stage-managed to cover the suspects’ real motive in killing Davantes.

Case still open

Task Force head Chief Superintendent Christopher Laxa said Davantes’ killing is not yet a closed case despite the arrest of Decimo, who confessed to stabbing her repeatedly until she died.

“The investigation procedure continues. We will not stop until we get a clearer picture of the crime. We are still following up on the other suspects and on the recovery of the other pieces of evidence. But we are happy with this development,” he said.                – With Mike Frialde