Couple, helper charged with murder of cop, son
The Quezon City police have filed murder charges against a car agent, her husband and their helper for allegedly killing Police Senior Master Sgt. Diane Marie Mollenido and her son, 8-year-old John Ysmael, over a car deal scam.
“The suspects, identified as Christian [Panganiban], Pia Katrina [Panganiban], and Gil [Dy Jr.], have been formally charged with two counts of murder, with no bail recommended, after the investigating prosecutor [found] prima facie evidence with a reasonable certainty of conviction against them,” the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said in a statement on Tuesday.
“In addition, Maribel [Panganiban], who was initially named as a suspect, has been cleared of all charges and will now be treated as an ordinary witness,” the QCPD added.
Maribel is the sister of Christian Panganiban, a dismissed policeman. She and Dy were earlier suspected of having helped the couple clean up the crime scene.
The 38-year-old Mollenido was assigned to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) headquarters in Taguig City. She and her son were believed to have been killed by the Panganibans inside the couple’s house in Fairview, Quezon City.
Scam uncovered
According to the NCRPO, Pia Katrina, a car agent, had received from Mollenido a downpayment of P550,000 for a Montero worth P1 million. It later turned out, however, that there was no Montero for sale, the police said.
The police added that to pay off the remaining amount, Mollenido was planning to sell her Innova, with Pia Katrina again as her agent.
On Jan. 16, the victims went to the couple’s house to see a buyer who reportedly wanted to buy Mollenido’s Innova. According to the police, it was at this time that Mollenido might have discovered that the couple was trying to scam her, possibly leading to an argument.
The bodies of the victims were found separately—Mollenido’s in Bulacan on Jan. 24 and her son’s on Jan. 29 in Tarlac.
The policewoman was shot in the head while her son was believed to have been suffocated using a plastic bag.
The Panganibans and Dy were arrested by the police on Jan. 30, while Maribel surrendered to the QCPD on Feb. 2.
Although not officially a suspect in the killings, Diane’s estranged husband, Police Senior Master Sgt. John Mollenido, was placed under restrictive custody by the NCRPO as he faces a case for obstruction of justice.
This was after he supposedly insisted on having the bodies of his wife and son immediately cremated despite the ongoing police investigation.
Husband still in custody
On Tuesday, the NCRPO said it denied the policeman’s request to be released from custody, citing policies that allow the Philippine National Police chief or a duly delegated police commander with jurisdiction to place a police officer facing a grave administrative charge or a criminal complaint under restrictive custody.
“Their request was denied, but they have filed another appeal,” NCRPO spokesperson Maj. Hazel Asilo told the Inquirer in a text message.
John’s legal counsel, Cristobal Rimando, had insisted on his client’s innocence, saying earlier that after the police released custody over the victims’ bodies to him, he had the right to have them cremated.
