CEBU CITY -- Police on Monday night, Oct. 17, arrested the suspect in the killing of a public school teacher in the City of Naga in southern Cebu.
Elmar Gemida, 24, was arrested by pursuing policemen in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.
Gemida is the suspect in the killing of Jhun Leo Pañares, whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in an office in Inoburan Elementary School past 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16.
Interviewed by local radio station dyHP, Gemida admitted he was bothered by his conscience after killing the teacher.
“Dako ko’g pagmahay. Wa ko katulog human sa panghitabo (I have great regret. I was not able to sleep after what happened),” said Gemida.
Gemida said he and the teacher fought before the killing.
But Lt. Junnel Caadlawon, chief of the Naga City Police Station, said robbery was the motive of the crime.
“That’s his story but we will stick to the circumstantial evidence,” said Caadlawon.
“Based on our investigation, there was really a plan to rob the victim,” added Caadlawon.
Caadlawon said the teacher’s wallet containing cash, cell phone and motorcycle were recovered from the suspect’s possession during the arrest.
Caadlawon said investigators were able to identify Gemida through a footage of a security camera that saw him together with the victim before the teacher was found dead.
The suspect’s helmet and his wristwatch were recovered at the crime scene, said Caadlawon, who was one of the police officers from Naga who went to San Carlos to arrest the suspect.
Caadlawon said they were able to track down the suspect’s whereabouts through his text messages to his wife.
Caadlawon said they also found a way to locate the suspect after he started dealing with the victim’s cell phone.
“We reached out to some of his fraternity members and we learned that he planned to sell the victim’s cell phone to them,” Caadlawon said.
Caadlawon said the Naga police will have a case conference with the fiscal to determine what case to be filed against the suspect.
But Caadlawon said the Naga police are planning to file robbery with homicide charges against the suspect.