CEBU CITY, Philippines — Three persons whom police tagged as the prime suspects in the murder of an ex-convict have surrendered to the Alcoy Police Station at 6 p.m. on Friday, January 29.
The three were believed to be behind the killing of Fredeswendo Mejellano on January 28, 2021, due to a personal grudge. Mejellano’s body was found stacked inside a sack.
The sack containing the dead body of ex-convict Fredeswendo Mejellano was found in a forested area in Alcoy town on January 28. | Photo courtesy of Alcoy Police via Paul Lauro
Police Senior Master Sergeant (PSMS) Rodrigo Teo of Alcoy Police Station identified the three as Elmer Ygonia Asucenas, 29 years old; Lemar Nieves Bayani, 18 years old, both residents of Sitio Lingatong, Nug-as, Alcoy, Cebu, and Richard Obligado Veliya, 22 years old, a resident of Sitio Lingatong 2, Barangay Guadalupe, Alegria.
Mejellano, 40 years old, was a resident of Sitio Libo, Barangay Lipanto, Alegria, Cebu. He was found dead inside a sack by the residents of Sitio Cagay, Poblacion Alcoy, Cebu, on Thursday morning, January 28.
PSMS Teo said the victim was an ex-convict who had just been released from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).
Mejellano’s younger brother Severino told CDN Digital that his brother was convicted of murder and served time in jail. The victim, his brother said, was also previously imprisoned for illegal possession of firearms.
PSMS Teo said in a phone interview with CDN Digital that the suspects admitted to the crime and said that they killed the victim because the latter allegedly threatened to kill them due to a personal grudge.
Teo believed that the victim and the suspects knew each other since they live nearby.
Police said the victim died because of a head injury and that as of now, they are still waiting for the updated report from the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO).
A murder case will be filed against the three suspects who are currently detained at the Alcoy Police Station. Teo said they will be turned over to the Alegria Police Station after they have given their statements. /rcg