Bodies of beauty queen, fiancé found in Capas

MANILA, Philippines — Two decomposing human remains found in Capas, Tarlac have been confirmed to be those of beauty pageant candidate Geneva Lopez and her Israeli partner Yitshak Cohen, based on their clothing and items found on the corpses, police said yesterday.

Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) found the corpses buried in a lot in Barangay Sta. Lucia at around 7 a.m. They carried out the operation based on a search warrant issued on Friday by Judge Edwin Bonifacio of Tarlac City Regional Trial Court Branch 111.

With the discovery of the victims’ remains, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil vowed to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice.

“We are committed to ensuring that justice prevails, not just in this case, but in all instances where the innocent suffer,” Marbil said in a statement.

Lopez and Cohen, residents of Barangay Malabanias in Angeles City, Pampanga, were reported missing by their relatives on June 22, a day after the couple went to Capas, Tarlac to check a property that they planned to buy.

Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda, who was present when the corpses were dug up, said the bodies were those of the couple.

“This was confirmed by the police based on the victims’ clothing,” Pineda said on Facebook.

Pineda vowed to help the couple’s families achieve justice. “Let’s pray for their souls. My condolences to their families,” he said.

PNP public information officer Col. Jean Fajardo said the relatives of Lopez and Cohen positively identified them based on the clothes they were last seen wearing before they went missing on June 21.

Fajardo said autopsy would be performed on the victims’ remains to determine the cause of death. Investigators will also lift tissue samples from the corpses for DNA testing to confirm their identities. The cadavers were brought to a funeral parlor in Tarlac City.

Five persons of interests – including two former police officers – are in police custody after being arrested separately in Tarlac for illegal possession of firearms, Fajardo said.

The two former police officers were arrested yesterday while the third, a civilian, was nabbed on Friday.

“There are two other POIs (persons of interest) in police custody,” she said in a phone interview.