Police arrested a tattoo artist over the death of his live-in partner whose dismembered body parts were found in two separate locations in Antipolo City on Friday, June 9.
Lt. Col. June Paolo Abrazado, Antipolo Police chief, told Manila Bulletin that the suspect, Eric, 27, had confessed to killing his partner, Lanie Cabanet Loreto, during police interrogation.
Loreto’s head, hands and legs were found by a scavenger stuffed in garbage bags under the bridge on NHA Avenue at noontime on June 9.
Her torso and other body parts were found in Sitio Boso-Boso, also in Antipolo City, late afternoon on the same day.
Police confirmed that the two sets of chopped-up body parts belonged to Loreto as confirmed by the victim’s relative.
As of this writing, Abrazado and the investigators, along with the suspect, whose identity has yet to be revealed by police, were on their way to the suspect’s house in Boso-Boso where the crime reportedly happened.
Abrazado told Manila Bulletin that the suspect admitted to the crime during police questioning on Saturday morning, or almost three days after committing the crime.
He told investigators that he was allegedly angered by the victim’s refusal to stop getting involved in illegal drugs.
Prior to the suspect’s confession, the police investigation centered on the victim’s involvement in illegal drugs after police records revealed that she had been engaged in illegal drug trade.
It was learned that before the discovery of the body parts, the victim asked her live-in partner on June 7 to accompany her to Cogeo Gate 2 to meet a certain “Ate” and they were supposed to go to a nearby mall.
Since then, the victim failed to go home as claimed by the victim’s relatives.
But police learned from the suspect that he killed the victim right in his house in Sitio Boso-Boso on June 7.
Abrazado said the suspect claimed that he banged the victim's head against the wall until she lost consciousness. He then left her for dead.
Police said the suspect claimed that he brought their two-year-old child to a relative in Padilla, Antipolo before he went back to his house to cut his partner’s body into several pieces using a 24-inch bolo.
He then stuffed the body parts in garbage bags and brought them to different locations.
As of this writing, probers were at the crime scene conducting further investigation on the killing.
Police said the murder of the victim could be considered a closed case following the alleged confession of the suspect.