Couple linked to sugarcane field slay arrested

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A couple linked to the killing of a man was arrested by police in Barangay Cabacungan, La Castellana, Negros Occidental, on Monday, Feb. 2 — nearly a year after the crime in March 2025.

Police Maj. Romulo Gepilango, chief of the La Castellana Municipal Police Station, said officers first served an arrest warrant for murder against 50-year-old “Junior.”

An hour later, authorities served the same warrant on his 49-year-old wife.

The court did not recommend bail for the charge.

The arrest warrants were issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 63 in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, on Jan. 16, 2026.

Gepilango said Junior was listed as the ninth most wanted person in the Negros Island Region (NIR), while his wife ranked eighth on the regional list.

All three suspects in the fatal stabbing incident are now in custody, according to Gepilango.

The first to be arrested was a 29-year-old laborer in January 2026.

He was tagged as the region’s second most wanted person for allegedly killing his neighbor following a drinking session with the couple.

The crime reportedly stemmed from a long-standing grudge between the neighbors.

The victim’s decomposing body was found stuffed in a sack of feed and dumped in the middle of a sugarcane field on March 22, 2025 — a week after he was killed.

Gepilango said the couple told authorities they are innocent.