The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Thursday night filed murder charges against seven suspects in the killing of the sister of actress Rochelle Barrameda after her body was recovered at Navotas offshore last Wednesday.

The body of the victim, Ruby Rose Jimenez, reported missing in March 2007, was recovered by members of the Regional Police Intelligence Operations Unit (RPIOU) after one of the alleged perpetrators, Manual Montero surfaced and confessed to his participation in the crime and identified other suspects.

NCRPO Regional Director, Chief Supt. Roberto Rosales, had ordered the retrieval of the body of Ruby Rose who, according to Montero, was stuffed inside a drum encased in cement and dropped in waters one mile off the shore of Navotas.

Rosales said that Montero, now in the custody of the RPIOU, surfaced last week and confessed to what he knew about the crime and helped police locate the body of the victim.

He said that Montero linked Manuel Jimenez II, his son Lope, Eric Fernandez, Robert Ponce, Spike Discalzo, and Rudy dela Cruz to the murder of Ruby Rose. All seven, including Montero, had been charged in the case, although Montero may become a state witness.

The elder Jimenez is the father of Manuel “Third” Jimenez III, the husband of the victim. Lope owned the Buena Suerte Jimenez Fishing and Trading Company, near where the body was found.

The NCRPO chief said that the recovered body was positively identified as Ruby Rose by her father through her dental record after an autopsy has been made on the body. Rosales said that crime laboratory reports showed Ruby Rose died from asphyxia by suffocation and strangulation.

It can be recalled that on March 14, 2007, Barrameda received a call from her sister’s friend named Gian informing her that she could not reach Ruby Rose on all her three mobile phones.

Barrameda said that she called the elder Jimenez to ask if they knew where Ruby Rose was. Jimenez claimed he didn’t know anything about Ruby Rose being missing.

After several failed attempts at calling her sister, Barrameda reported her missing to the Philippine

National Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER) to help them locate Ruby Rose.
The PACER turned over the case on March 16, 2007 to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Police investigation turned up nothing and nothing was heard about the victim until Montero surfaced. Police said that prior to the killing, Ruby Rose was separated from her husband since December 2006 and had lived with her sister Rochel in Moonwalk, Las Pinas, until she went missing.

“Sana mabigyan ng hustisya iyong nangyari sa anak ko. Magdusa ang gumawa ng krimen. Mabigyan kami ng tunay na hustisya,” said Roberto Barrameda, father of Ruby Rose.

Barrameda said it pained his family to know that the death of her daughter was linked to their in-laws.

Meanwhile, the Barrameda family sought a hold departure of seven people who were charged with the murder of Ruby Rose.

The parents of Ruby Rose said they could not believe that her separation from her husband and the custody battle for their children would end in her tragic death.

They said they would pursue the case until they obtain justice for Ruby Rose.

“Masakit, masakit talaga. For two years, we have been searching for her. Iyong dinaanan namin, iyon dinaaan ni Ruby Rose dapat lang makakuha kami ng hustisya,” said Ruby Rose’s mother Asuncion.

Rochelle also identified the remains of her sister through her earrings and the clothes recovered.

Meanwhile, the lawyer for the Jimenezes, Mario Aguinaldo, denied the family was involved in the killing of Ruby Rose.

Aguinaldo said there is no reason for the Jimenezes to order to kill her as the custody battle remains unsettled.