3 nabbed in killing of cop, son; vehicle linked to crime found
Three people have been arrested as suspects in connection with the killings of a policewoman and her young son, whose bodies were found separately last week in Bulacan and Tarlac provinces.
The police also recovered a vehicle in Angeles City believed to have been used to move and dump the bodies of Senior Master Sgt. Diane Marie Gabres Mollenido, 38, and her son John Ysmael, 8.
Police Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), said the arrests were made Friday night.
The suspects were identified as Gil Valdemoro Dy Jr., 41; Pia Katrina Chua Panganiban, 29; and Christian Suarez Panganiban, 44, the last a dismissed police officer.
They were apprehended in separate operations conducted in Quezon City on Friday, according to a police report.
Based on initial findings, Mollenido and her son were last seen alive on Jan. 16 when they left their Taguig City residence to sell the family’s Toyota Innova.
Wrapped in tape
Mollenido, who was assigned to the NCRPO’s Personnel and Records Management Division, was reported missing Jan. 19.
The policewoman was found dead with a gunshot wound in the head on Jan. 24 along Pulilan Bypass Road in Bulacan. John Ysmael’s body was discovered Jan. 29 in a farm in Barangay Maluid, Victoria, Tarlac.
Police said the boy’s body was wrapped in tape and placed in a plastic trash bag when found by a farmer.
Investigators traced the victims’ last known location before they disappeared to the house of Pia and Christian Panganiban in Novaliches, Quezon City.
SUV located
The three suspects were carrying a total of P100,000 in cash when arrested, the police said. No formal complaints had been filed against them as of this writing.
In Angeles City, authorities on Saturday found the sport utility vehicle (SUV) in Barangay Margot that was allegedly used in dumping the bodies of the victims.
The Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) said the gray Toyota Fortuner, with temporary plate P1B676, was discovered along Zakura Street at Deca Clark Residences and Resorts.
In a phone interview, Station 5 officer in charge Capt. Danilo Capili said the Quezon City police was able to locate the SUV through backtracking and a review of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
The vehicle was later positively identified by one of the arrested suspects as the one used in the crime, police said.
