Cops match footprints of Picache ma’s killer

MANILA, Philippines - Footprints lifted from the house of actress Cherry Pie Picache’s 75-year-old mother matched those of the man who confessed to killing her, police said yesterday.

The footprints were lifted from the floor of Zenaida Sison’s room and the stairs, said Chief Inspector Rodel Marcelo, head of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU).

“These matched with those of Michael Flores and this result is a vital evidence in the criminal cases against the suspect,” Marcelo said in an interview.

Inspector Elmer Monsalve, head of the QCPD-CIDU’s Homicide Investigation and Detection Unit, said Flores had admitted in his extra-judicial confession that he was barefoot when he snuck into the elder woman’s house in Barangay Paligsahan at dawn on Sept. 19.

“The fact that he went barefoot when he executed the crime showed he’s an amateur,” Monsalve said.

Police said it appeared Flores did not initially intend to kill Sison, who would call him whenever she needed something done at her house in Barangay Paligsahan.

Sison woke up while Flores was looting her room, and it appeared she tried to fight him off, as shown by the wounds she sustained, Monsalve said.

Picache discovered her mother’s body hours later.

Flores was arrested Tuesday night after seeking refuge in a house in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The homeowner, aware that Flores was linked to Sison’s killing, called the police.