Body in refrigerator case: Second suspect surrenders

TWO of the suspects in the killing of a 69-year-old woman in Talisay City were already in police custody.

This developed after second suspect, Jeffrey Banilad, surrendered to the Talisay City Police at 6 p.m. on Sunday or nearly 20 hours since the first suspect, his brother Jay-R Banilad, was arrested in Badian town at past 5 a.m. that day.

Supt. Marlu Conag, Talisay City Police Station chief, said that Jeffrey and Jay-R Banilad were detained at the police station detention cell pending the filing of charges.

Conag said Jay-R Banilad was the employee of the victim.

The third suspect, Johnny Duarme, who is still at large, is also a brother of the two suspects.

Conag said that Jeffrey and Jay-R were carrying their mother’s family name while Johnny, who was the eldest, was carrying their father’s family name.

Conag also said that the two arrested brothers pointed to Johnny as the mastermind in the crime where they would rob and kill Loa and hide her body in a refrigerator.

He said that the brothers told him that they planned to leave for Mindanao after the crime but after they got drunk, they decided to hide in Badian instead.

With the arrest and confession of the two brothers, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas director, Chief Supt. Debold Sinas said that when they would catch the third suspect, then they would consider the case solved.