ANGELES CITY, Philippines – A new suspect in the killing of a 17-year-old campus beauty queen here was arrested Saturday, the same day the victim was laid to rest.
Based on new pieces of evidence and the testimonies of new witnesses, suspect Vladimir Dianzon, 32, was nabbed in his home in the City of San Fernando, said Senior Superintendent Jose Santiago Hidalgo Jr., city police chief.
With Dianzon’s arrest, police released Rolando Estrada who gave himself up last Friday after being tagged in the killing of Danielle Louise Huet Conde, a student of the Holy Angel University.
In a police line-up, Estrada was identified by two witnesses, both minors, compelling the police to place him under arrest.
Despite Estrada being in their custody, police still pursued their investigation, leading them to Dianzon, who yielded a mountain bike with bloodstains.
According to Hidalgo, two more witnesses surfaced and tagged Dianzon as the man on a bicycle they saw fleeing from the crime scene with blood on his right hand.
A 12-year-old witness also confirmed that it was Dianzon, not Estrada, he saw escaping from Conde’s apartment.
About 2,000 people, including relatives and friends, attended Conde’s burial last Saturday.
Conde’s father Adolfo told The STAR that his daughter, who was also a taekwondo black belter, was planning to take the entrance exam of the Philippine Military Academy.
– With Ric Sapnu