Karen Kaye Montebon
(Third update: 10:16 pm)
Lapu-Lapu police said the killer of 17-year-old Karen Kaye Montebon has been identified.
Karen was allegedly killed by a family friend’s boyfriend who robbed her of a DSLR camera, iPad mini, power bank, necklace and earrings. The suspect, Ruben Fernandez, was gunned down in an islet in Getafe, Bohol this afternoon shortly before the arrival of Lapu-Lapu policemen who came to arrest him.
Lapu-Lapu police chief Senior Supt. Armando Radoc said the suspect was identified in a confession by his girlfriend who lives in Olango island in Mactan.
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The killer’s motive was robbery, said police. The suspect allegedly pawned the camera for P5,000 through a friend, bought shabu and had a pot session.
The suspect’s girlfriend is in police custody and cooperating with the investigation.
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The girlfriend says she was not aware of the murder or robbery which took place after she and Fernandez visited Karen at home in Corinthian Subdivision about 7 a.m. last Tuesday, September 15.
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Fernandez, 23, was shot dead in Nasingin Island in Getafe, Bohol. Two teams of Lapu-lapu police on a boat reported hearing several gunshots before they arrived on shore. They were met by the Getafe police chief who reported that Fernandez was shot dead by unidentified assailants. Fernandez has a sister living in the island. He had a previous record in Lapu-lapu city of imprisonment on theft charges in at least two cases.
The girlfriend came forward after confiding to an elder sister in Hawaii, who was the one who called Supt. Radoc in his office.
How much did the girlfriend, Jenalyn Soon, know of the crime?
The young woman insists she had no part in the attack, or knew Karen was harmed until much later, according to police.
In her initial account, Soon confirmed that she and Fernandez visited Karen who was alone at home at about 7 am.
Police said video footage of a CCTV camera in the subdivision and another outside showed the couple enter Corinthian Subdivison on a motorbike.
The video jives with early witness account of a house helper in the neighborhood who described seeing a young woman with long hair knock on the door of the Montebon residence while a male companion waited on a motorbike parked outside.
Soon told police she and her boyfriend left the subdivision.
Soon was dropped outside the village by her boyfriend who claimed his bike was low on fuel and that he had to look for a gas station. Unknown to her, Fernandez drove back to Karen’s house.
Soon said she went to a friend’s house in Marigondon and that when her live-in boyfriend returned for her at 1 p.m. she allegedly noticed him bringing a bag with a camera and other gadgets inside.
Police still have to get Soon’s full statement. She was accompanied to the police headquarters on Tuesday by her sister Josephine.
The girlfriend provided police a photo of Fernandez.