THE Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) that was burned in a mountain barangay of Danao City with two persons inside was not registered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), police said.
Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), said based on their initial investigation, the vehicle was a Hyundai Sta. Fe.
“LTO said they do not have any records of the engine number of the SUV,” Gillamac said.
Gillamac said they will double-check the engine number to make sure that there was no error in their verification.
He added they are coordinating with the PNP Crime Laboratory in the handling of an autopsy and forensic examination on the charred bodies.
Yesterday, members of the PNP Crime laboratory also conducted macro etching on the SUV to determine if it is in the database of stolen vehicles.
Supt. Paul Labra, head of the intelligence division of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said they are considering the possibilities of the crime being related to drugs or a love triangle.
The police are checking Korean surplus shops in Cebu considering that the vehicle was Korean-made and unregistered.
Initial findings of the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) showed that the unidentified victims were killed elsewhere before they were burned with the vehicle in barangay Sabang.
“It is because there are traces of burned tires which were placed on top of the bodies, which indicates that they were killed somewhere else and were brought to Sabang,” Gillamac said.
Gillamac added the crime was very well-planned noting that the victims were brought to a secluded area which is 2.5 km away from the highway and far from residential houses.
Police offices in the region were alerted to check if there are missing persons in their area.
A GUNSMITH was shot dead in front of his deaf-mute wife and their one-year-old son inside a Chinese cemetery in barangay Lorega, Cebu City yesterday dawn.
George Dela Cruz, 29, died on the spot with gunshot wounds in the head.
SPO1 Ruth Violango said the crime may have been related to the victim’s involvement in making firearms in Danao City.
Violango said there may have been threats on the victim’s life that prompted him to relocate with his family from Danao to Lorega a few days ago.
Days before the shooting, an unidentified man was in the cemetery looking for the victim.
Police said the family was sleeping in a shanty when the bonnet-wearing assailant barged in and fired shots.
The gunman also took a metal box containing gun-making equipment owned by the victim.
Police said an interpreter was hired to help the victim’s wife describe what happened and identify the assailant.
A 30-YEAR-OLD tempura vendor was stabbed by a construction worker and the boyfriend of his former live-in partner in barangay Sawang Calero, Cebu City.
Julius Abing, a native of Bohol province, survived the attack but sustained stab wounds in the head, arms and other parts of the body.
One of the attackers, Jason Tagalog, a 36-year-old construction worker, surrendered to the police shortly after Tuesday’s incident. The other suspect, Ronnie Langbid, remains at large.
Police said a personal grudge was the motive of the attack.
A few days ago, Abing figured in an argument with Jinky Montana, his former live-in partner who is now in a relationship with Langbid.
Police said Abing was lying on a bed when the two suspects barged in.
Tagalog attacked Abing with a knife while Langbid tried to shoot him but the gun malfunctioned.A neighbor brought the victim to the Cebu City Medical Center.