3 UPLB students wanted for doctor’s slay

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is hunting down three sociology students of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños for the killing of a doctor and near-slaying of his companion last May 11.

The subjects of the NBI manhunt are Kissinger Kraft, 20, officer of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity; fellow frat member Mark Alba, 20; and Antonio Rivera Jr., 20, a sociology senior.

The three students were implicated in the killing of Dr. Franklin Avellaneda, of the St. Luke’s Medical Center, and the near-slaying of Edmundo Dayag, a computer consultant of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Investigation conducted by the NBI-Metro Manila office showed that at about 11 p.m. last May 11, Avellaneda and Dayag, who were aboard a Honda CRV van, fetched the suspects somewhere in Los Baños, Laguna for a supposed meeting at the APEC Center inside the UPLB compound.

At the APEC Center, they drank some bottles of beer. After a few minutes, the NBI said, Dayag noticed Avellaneda pleading with Alba and Rivera. The two suspects allegedly twisted the arms of Avellaneda while pointing a knife to his face.

Kraft, meanwhile, allegedly wrestled Dayag to the ground and hit him with a hard object. Dayag, the NBI said, managed to escape, but was shot by one of the suspects.

While hiding, Dayag said he heard several gunshots and later saw the three suspects aboard Avellaneda’s van as if looking for him.

Police found Avellaneda’s body a few meters away from the crime scene. He was stabbed and shot several times, and one of his wrists was handcuffed.

His van was later found abandoned at a nearby subdivision. The P20,000 he had hid under the mat was missing. – Mike Frialde