Person of interest in stabbing of drunk e-bike driver in Talisay taken into custody

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police in Talisay City, Cebu have taken into custody a person of interest linked to the fatal stabbing of a 32-year-old e-bike driver along the road in Barangay Dumlog, Talisay City, Cebu on early Friday morning, May 3, 2024.

The stabbing attack happened at around 3:00 a.m. and authorities responded around 6 minutes after the attack.

The victim was identified as Junnex Abayon, 32, a native of Zamboanga City who was living in Sitio Kawayanan, Barangay Biasong in Talisay.

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Abayon’s body was positively identified by his common-law partner, Rogelyn Gahuman. 

Police Lieutenant Colonel Epream Paguyod, chief of Talisay City Police Station, said that the victim was riding a tricycle with his common-law partner early on Friday.

The two were reportedly engaged in a heated argument which prompted them to get off by the side of the road.

According to Paguyod, the victim’s partner told police that he was drunk at the time and started to act rowdy and in a drunken rage challenged people in the area to a fistfight.

It was then that two men suddenly approached them, one of them pulled out a knife and stabbed Abayon on the left side of his neck, causing his death on the spot.

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Following the incident, police have identified a person of interest and took him into custody on the same day. 

According to Paguyod, the man in custody was previously detained in prison for a charge of theft in February of 2023. 

He also said there was an intent to kill the victim based on the statement of the witness and the depth of the wound. 

Paguyod said that they would be waiting for the result of the autopsy examination on the victim’s body to determine his cause of death.

Furthermore, they will be gathering statements from more witnesses and checking closed circuit television (CCTV) footage at the scene as part of their ongoing investigation.

Police will also be looking into whether the two knew each other and had previous altercations that resulted to the stabbing incident. 

As of this writing, the person of interest is still in the custody of police while the investigation is ongoing.

Another suspect, on the other hand, has also been identified but is still being hunted by authorities.