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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Luzon devider Davao City police probe abduction of 2 Bragas rape-slay suspects

Davao City police probe abduction of 2 Bragas rape-slay suspects

Published Jun 8, 2023 07:14 am
DAVAO CITY – Police are still investigating the alleged abduction of Kent Laurence Metegreto Espinosa and Dennis Roy P. Panzan, two suspects in the rape and murder of 28-year-old architect and engineer Vlance Marie L. Bragas last month.
BRAGAS Police Major Catherine dela Rey, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson, said in an interview on the sidelines of the I-Speak Media Conference that they have no lead yet on who abducted Espinosa and Panzan. The 18-year-old Panzan, resident of Purok 7 in Barangay Lacson, this city, was reported missing at 9:30 a.m. on May 27. On the other hand, Espinosa, 26, meat vendor, and resident of Purok 18, Megaville St., Calinan District, went missing hours later at 3:30 p.m. the same day. Panzan was rescued by authorities in Matina Pangi at 8:05 a.m. on May 29 but he died an hour later at Davao Adventist hospital. “We cannot dismiss the fact that they were also victims because they were abducted. We are still conducting an investigation,” she added. Dela Rey said it remains unclear why the two suspects were taken but added that their families are now coordinating with the police. She urged the public to immediately report to the police if they have any information regarding the persons responsible for their abduction. A complaint for rape with homicide was filed before the City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, June 5, against four suspects, including Renato Ali Bayansao and one unidentified person, in the rape-slay of Bragas. During a press conference on Monday, Police Major Neil M. Vistar, commander of the DCPO Calinan Police Station, added that their two witnesses testified that they had seen the suspects assaulting Bragas. Bayansao, driver of a pedicab locally known as “ombak,” was arrested during a buy-bust operation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Davao on May 28 in Purok 8 in Calinan. Vistar said that Bragas boarded the ombak at 10:39 p.m. on May 16 at Crossing Fausta but shortly after the victim alighted on Megaville St., Panzan allegedly punched her in the face while an unidentified suspect hit her in the stomach about 50 meters away from her residence. After she passed out, he said the suspects carried her back to the motor vehicle and sped away. The result of the autopsy examination conducted on the cadaver showed that the cause of death was “asphyxia by manual strangulation.” The examination also found “recent genital trauma,” which confirmed that the victim was raped.

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SUSPECTS Vlanche Marie L. Bragas Davao City
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