Woman killed in drug-fueled hotel tryst

MANILA, Philippines - A woman, believed to be a sex worker, was killed in what may have been a drug-fueled tryst in a hotel in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday.

The still unidentified woman, approximately in her 20s, was found in the bathroom of the Selenna Hotel’s third-floor room where she and her alleged killer, Musushi Tamano Lucman, had checked into at around 3 a.m.

The towel he reportedly used to strangle her was still looped around her neck. She was clad in an orange shirt and denim pants.

Lucman’s companion, Mohammad Ikles Mindalano, told investigators they picked up two women in front of a motel across the street from the hotel.

He said that at around 6 a.m., around three hours after they checked in, he heard a thud and shouts coming from Lucman’s room but reported the incident to hotel staff 30 minutes later.

The hotel’s officer-in-charge, Bonifacio Jimenez, told police officers he went into Lucman’s room and saw the suspect sweating and fidgeting. He told Lucman to stay put as he called the housekeeper.

Jimenez went down and as he and the housekeeper were on their way back to the room, they saw the suspect running away. They tried to hold on to him but the man managed to jump from the second floor’s fire exit.

When they went into the room, Jimenez said they found the woman in the bathroom.

Jimenez noted that Lucman had fled wearing the hotel-provided slippers, leaving his rubber shoes behind. Investigators also found Lucman’s bag, which contained a sachet of what they believed to be dried marijuana leaves.