CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela -- The Isabela Police Office may now consider the murder of Agnes Palce, wife of a Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge here, a solved case.
This, after the police were able to trace and arrest the perpetrators in hot pursuit operations they conducted without letup since Palce, wife of Judge Ariel Palce of RTC’s Branch 40, was gunned down by two riding-in-tandem on Wednesday (May 25) in Brgy. San Felipe.
Lieutenant Rowena Ramos, Information Officer of Ilagan Philippine National Police, said in an interview over a local radio station, that two suspects allegedly involved in the shooting of Agnes Cabauatan-Palce were already arrested.
The information officer though refused to name the victims pending the completion of their investigation of the gruesome murder.
She was riding on a van and was on her way home in Tumauini, Isabela when the two unidentified gunmen riding on motorcycle overtook her car.
The back-rider shot her at a close range, and the police said Agnes was hit on her right jaw.
Victim was rushed to the nearest hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
The suspects immediately fled to an unknown direction but the following day, May 26, they were arrested in the said city.
Police are still determining the motive in the killing of Agnes who was also the internal audit manager of Isabela Electric Cooperative 2 (ISELCO 2).
Ramos said that with the help of a video surveillance or CCTV, investigators were able to determine the identity of perpetrators.
“Sa tulong ng CCTV ng mga residente natunton ang perpetrators, dalawa ang nahuli, ang driver at gunman, nakuha na rin ang motorsiklo at ngayon ay nasa custodial facility ng City of Ilagan” she told.
Cases against the two suspects were already referred to the city prosecutor’s office.