Two suspects in Slovak tourist killing arrested

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Two suspects in the brutal killing of a Slovak tourist on Boracay Island earlier this year have been arrested.

Police identified the suspects as alias Rajel, 29, of Sitio Diniwid, Barangay Balabag, and alias Ronald, 38, of Barangay Yapak, both residents of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.

According to reports from the Aklan Police Provincial Office (AkPPO), both men were arrested on Monday, October 20.

Rajel was served an arrest warrant while already detained at the Aklan District Jail in Barangay Nalook, Kalibo, Aklan, for a previous case involving a violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Ronald was apprehended at his residence in Barangay Yapak, Boracay Island.

Members of the Malay Municipal Police Station served the warrant of arrest against both men for the crime of rape with homicide under Case No. 18076.

The arrest warrant was issued by Judge Montalid Polines Patnubay Jr. of the 6th Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 9 in Kalibo, Aklan, on October 17, 2025. No bail was recommended for their temporary liberty.

Both suspects are included in Aklan province’s list of most wanted persons.

They were charged in connection with the murder of Slovak national Michaela Mickova, whose body was discovered on March 12 inside an abandoned chapel at Zone 3, Sitio Pinaungon, Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island.

Although initial reports identified four persons of interest, only Rajel and Ronald were included in the final charge sheet. It remains unclear what became of the case against the two other suspects.

The case for murder was filed on May 30, more than two months after Mickova’s death.

Two of the four suspects had previously been arrested, though for unrelated cases.

One of them, alias Mik, 28, was nabbed in a buy-bust operation on March 14 and was later charged under Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Mik later executed an extrajudicial confession admitting knowledge of the crime. Rajel was also charged separately for illegal possession of a firearm.