Confessed killer recalls Kae’s last hours

MANILA, Philippines - Kristelle “Kae” Davantes was a few steps away from entering her house in Moonwalk, Las Piñas City when a group of six robbers snatched her in the wee hours of Sept. 7.

Based on the reenactment conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday, Davantes was about to unlock their gate when three of the suspects armed with knives and guns seized her at around 1:40 a.m.

“She did not scream nor resist. We forced her to go back to her car,” said Davantes’ confessed killer Samuel Decimo.

He identified his three accomplices who kidnapped Davantes as Jojo, Jorek and Vaser.

According to Decimo, Davantes pulled over across her house, got out of the car with its headlights still on and proceeded to open the gate. 

The senior account executive of McCann World Group was unaware that Decimo and his accomplices were observing her in a red Honda City two to three meters away from her.

The suspects brought Davantes to Silang, Cavite.

Decimo said they feared that Davantes had recognized their faces, prompting them to kill her.

Aunt’s instruction

The victim’s uncle, Vince, said things would have been different had Davantes followed her aunt Ella’s instruction to honk the car horn as a signal that she has arrived home. 

“Her relatives would have immediately found out that someone commandeered her car and took her away,” Vince told The STAR.

Chance victim

Davantes was a “chance victim,” according to lawyer Moises Tamayo, head of the NBI-Laguna Office.

“She was not a specific target, there was no premeditation to kill her. She was a (random) victim of these robbers who were in the subdivision looking for a prospective target,” Tamayo said.

He advised motorists to be cautious.

“The best way is to not leave your car and let the household members open the gate for you,” he said.

There were at least three guard posts leading to Davantes’ house. The Las Piñas Police Community Precinct 1 is also near her house.