Reah Mae Tocmo and Simeon Gabutero Jr.
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The perpetrator behind the brutal killing of Reah Mae Tocmo, the 19-year-old woman whose corpse was found stuffed inside a box in Brgy. Tisa last July 17, has been identified.
Murder charges will be filed against Simeon Gabutero Jr., a construction worker, said Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).
READ MORE: Family cries for justice for Reah Tocmo; police continue to pursue leads
Dalogdog told reporters in a press conference on Thursday, August 10 that Gabutero issued an extra-judicial confession after the DNA test results showed that samples found in Tocmo’s fingernails matched those of Gabutero.
Gabutero was earlier tagged as a person of interest in the case.
It can be recalled that police traced him after a man reported to them that he bought Tocmo’s missing smartphone from Gabutero.
Reah Mae was found dead, her corpse stuffed inside an abandoned box along the street in Sitio Mohon in Brgy. Tisa, Cebu City last July 17.
News of her gruesome killing reached her relatives, who were not only angry towards the perpetrators behind the crime but were shocked to learn that the 19-year-old woman had been in Cebu.
/bmjo
READ MORE: TIMELINE: The tragic ending of Reah Mae Tocmo