Suspect in murder of Picache’s ma falls

MANILA, Philippines - The primary suspect in the killing of actress Cherry Pie Picache’s mother – 75-year-old Zenaida Sison – said he only meant to rob her but she recognized him, prompting him to stab her to death.

Michael Flores, 29, was arrested in Sta. Rosa, Laguna Tuesday night after hiding in Metro Manila, Cavite and Laguna for weeks.

Flores had changed his appearance in an attempt to elude arrest, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Richard Albano said.

Flores, a helper of the victim, shaved, dyed his hair from brown to black and grew a moustache.

Police recovered from the suspect Sison’s cell phone and jewelry worth P500,000, Albano said.

The suspect was nabbed by members of the Sta. Rosa police who were tipped off that he was spotted in Barangay Malusak at around 11:30 p.m.

Flores admitted to the crime, said Sta. Rosa police chief Superintendent Pergentino Malabed. 

“He did not resist when he was cornered by lawmen,” Malabed told The STAR.

Flores told investigators that he carried out the crime with the help of two companions, whom he did not identify.

Sison’s body was riddled with stab wounds when she was found in her home in Barangay Paligsahan, Quezon City.

Malabed said Flores and his cohorts were under the influence of drugs when they committed the crime during heavy rains spawned by Tropical Storm Mario on Sept. 19.

The suspect said he only meant to rob the victim, but she was awakened when Flores sneaked into her room and recognized him, prompting the suspects to kill her, police said.

The bloodstained clothes – a pair of shorts and a shirt – found inside the victim’s house belong to Flores, said Inspector Elmer Monsalve, head of the QCPD’s homicide section.

Police had described the suspect as a vagabond – hopping from one house to another – to evade arrest.

But on Tuesday night, Flores ran out of luck after he sought refuge in the wrong house in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“Unknown to him, the house owner called up the police while Flores was inside,” Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, chief of the QCPD’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit said in an interview.

Senior Superintendent Florendo Saligao, Laguna police director, said the suspect had been the subject of theft complaints from his past employers in Las Piñas and nearby provinces of Cavite and Laguna.

Charges of murder with robbery have been filed against Flores and two other suspects, who remain at large.

Cherry Pie lauds arrest

Picache, for her part, lauded the police for the suspect’s arrest.

She took to social media to thank those who had helped in the investigation of the case.

“Praise God. Please continue praying for us. Our justice has just started. I’m praying he will be convicted at the soonest time possible,” she said in her Instagram account.    – With Arnell Ozaeta