Complaints for murder and frustrated murder were filed against the suspect in the March 21 killing of a 15-year-old girl and the wounding of her mother in barangay Banilad, Mandaue City.
Emmanuel Ruiz, 63, a resident of barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, was charged before the Mandaue City Prosecutors’ Office last Tuesday.
He was identified by the girl’s mother as the one who shot them inside a passenger multicab.
Kim Espina was shot in the head while her mother, Prescilla Patenio, survived but was wounded in the left cheek.
In her affidavit, Patenio said she knew the gunman because he is the brother-in-law of her former husband.
Patenio said she was able to see the gunman’s face after they were shot.
In a television report by ABS-CBN, Ruiz denied involvement in the killing.
He said he was willing to face the charges.
Patenio said that when Ruiz arrived from New York in November 2014, the suspect started sending lewd text messages to her daughter.
Patenio said she confronted Ruiz when she learned about the text messages he allegedly sent to Kim.
Patenio said she met with Ruiz inside the suspect’s car, a Kia Sorento.
Ruiz allegedly asked for forgiveness and admitted that he was in love with Kim and that he didn’t want to be called uncle by the girl.
At the time, Patenio said she warned Ruiz to stop sending text messages to Kim or they will report the incident to media personality Leo Lastimosa, whom she said was a close friend of her daughter.
In asking forgiveness, Ruiz allegedly asked Patenio to destroy Kim’s SIM card to spare her family from public ridicule.
Before the alleged sexual advances, the mother and daughter met with Ruiz. Patenio said she sought help from the suspect regarding the case of her son, Edilberto Espina, who is currently detained for drug charges.
During the first meeting, Ruiz allegedly held Kim’s face and kissed her.
Because of the incident, Kim allegedly told her mother that she will never see Ruiz again.
Patenio said that when the sexual advances continued, she met with Ruiz again.
Ruiz once again apologized but he was told that the mother and daughter had decided to seek the help of Lastimosa. This allegedly angered Ruiz.
Ruiz allegedly told Patenio: “Kun iya (Kim) man gani nang buhaton, wa’y sukod sa bawos, kaila baya ka nako (If she will do it, watch out for my revenge. You know me).”
After the threat, Ruiz allegedly kept on calling Kim’s cellphone but the girl ignored the calls.
After she was released from hospital, Patenio and her family left Cebu for safety reasons.
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