SITG prepares case vs three individuals on architect’s grisly end
THE SPECIAL Investigation Task Group (SITG) Bragas is set to file a rape with homicide case against three individuals involved in the slaying of architect Vlanche Marie Bragas in Calinan District on May 17.
In an interview on Friday, city police director Col. Alberto Lupaz said they are only finishing the affidavits of the two witnesses who positively identified the perpetrators.
While he did not name the suspects, Lupaz said one was the driver of the yellow tricycle, his passenger, and another man waiting at the corner near the victim’s house. Reportedly, the same man punched her until she was unconscious.
Bragas was found lifeless and dumped at the canal in a banana plantation in Purok 6, Barangay Dacudao, Calinan, on May 17. Based on the autopsy report, she died from asphyxia through strangulation.
Recently, a task group was created to thoroughly investigate the case. It earlier said they already had five persons of interest.
One of the three alleged persons of interest, Renato Bayansao Alias Empoi, was arrested in a buy-bust operation led by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) XI at his residence in Calinan on May 27.
What complicated the investigation was the reports of abductions of alleged persons of interest.
One was 23-year-old Dennis Roy Panzan, who was allegedly tortured before escaping. However, he collapsed while under police custody and later died.
Another was a Grade 10 student Kent Espinosa, who was reported missing after unknown individuals allegedly abducted him on May 27.
Moreover, 56-year-old Rodrigo Cadungog went missing after telling her wife, Elsa, that he would look for a job.
His wife, in an interview with the media, revealed that her husband helped Panzan and brought them to the barangay and Talomo police on Monday, May 29, after he escaped.
