Negros Oriental governor presses police over Dumaguete rob-slay

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — “Catch the perpetrators.”

This was the directive of Negros Oriental Gov. Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria to Police Col. Jonathan Abella, newly assigned acting provincial director of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO), following the deaths of an American national and his Filipina wife at their home in Barangay Bajumpandan, Dumaguete City, on Sept. 2.

Sagarbarria, in a recent media interview, said he had talked to Abella and told him not to take the incident lightly.

“The number one priority is to make sure to get those behind the murder of the couple,” he added.

While police continue to probe the case, Sagarbarria noted the difficulty facing investigators, especially since the 55-year-old helper of the elderly victims was still traumatized by the incident.

Despite this, Sagarbarria said he was optimistic that police would soon apprehend the perpetrators.

Authorities are investigating robbery as a possible motive in the killings of the 72-year-old American national and his 71-year-old Filipina wife after PHP 60,000 in cash, assorted jewelry, and a laptop were reportedly found missing from their home.

Police Capt. Stephen Polinar, NOrPPO spokesperson, said the couple each sustained a gunshot wound to the upper body, based on the results of the postmortem examination.

Fired bullets from a suspected .45-caliber firearm were recovered from the scene and subjected to ballistic examination and cross-matching to determine whether the weapon could be linked to other crimes.

The couple was found dead in the living room after two unidentified persons allegedly entered their home.

Their helper was inside her quarters, which are separate from the main house.

Polinar said investigators are waiting for the results of forensic examinations of DNA and blood samples taken from the scene.

Polinar acknowledged the challenges of the investigation, especially because of the absence of closed-circuit television cameras.

“We have leads but we’re looking for more evidence to implicate these persons,” he said.

He, however, refused to speculate about the case while the investigation is ongoing, saying investigators need to establish a clearer picture of what happened.

A Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) was created hours after the incident to focus on the investigation.

Police said Sept. 9 that they had identified a suspect in the couple’s killing and were preparing a criminal complaint as the investigation continued.

The incident came less than two months after American marine biologist Dr. Kent Carpenter was killed during a robbery at his home in Sibulan, Negros Oriental.

Police later took three suspects into custody in connection with Carpenter’s killing, while another suspect surrendered to authorities.