The 57-year-old victim was found lifeless inside the bathroom of his hotel room in Quezon City. (Photo courtesy of the QCPD CIDU)
Three minors were taken into custody after a 57‑year‑old freelance bookkeeper was found strangled inside the bathroom of his Quezon City hotel room on Aug. 26.
The victim was discovered around 11:20 a.m. at a hotel on Timog Avenue in Barangay Sacred Heart after an employee, who had gone to clean the room, received no response despite repeated knocks.
The staff sought help from the front desk, prompting personnel to open the room where the victim was found dead, his belongings in disarray and blood scattered inside.
A Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) examination showed he died of asphyxia due to strangulation.
QCPD‑CIDU acting chief P/Maj. Errol Frejas said the victim appeared to have been struck on the head with a bottle before a pillow was pressed over his face.
The victim, who was from Mindanao, had traveled to Metro Manila to process work-related documents and booked the hotel room for eight days starting Aug. 18.
Police reviewing CCTV footage found that he was last seen alive on Aug. 23 with three male children.
Two of the minors were seen with the victim during the morning and afternoon, while the third was later fetched by one of the minors.
At about 9:15 p.m., the three were seen leaving the hotel together while carrying backpacks and the victim’s personal belongings.
Frejas said the victim met the minors through a social media app and arranged to meet them for drinks while he was in Manila.
Police said robbery was the primary motive behind the killing.
The minors allegedly took three cellphones, a wristwatch, identification cards, debit and credit cards, and two passbooks belonging to the victim.
They allegedly withdrew about P150,000 using his ATM card and made purchases worth nearly P40,000 using his credit card.
A cellphone recovered from the crime scene helped investigators track the minors.
With the consent of the victim’s wife, investigators accessed the device and found that it was synchronized with other phones allegedly being used by the suspects.
Photos taken by the minors and other information from the device helped police trace the stolen phones and establish their whereabouts.
Police also traced a transport network vehicle service (TNVS) driver allegedly hired by the minors. The driver cooperated with authorities and helped investigators locate them.
CIDU and Kamuning Police Station 10 personnel conducted a hot-pursuit operation that led to the protective custody of two suspects, aged 16 and 17, at about 6:50 p.m. on Aug. 29 in Barangay Segunda Pulo, Lumban, Laguna.
Through coordination with the Tanauan City Police Station, a third suspect, 16, was placed under protective custody at about 11:55 p.m. the same day in Trapiche 3, Tanauan City, Batangas.
Police recovered several items believed to belong to the victim, including cellphones, a wristwatch, a black pouch, and bank and credit cards issued in his name.
The three CICLs were informed of their constitutional rights and placed under protective custody in accordance with laws governing children in conflict with the law.
They were later turned over to the Quezon City Social Services Development Department for discernment assessment and appropriate intervention.
Frejas said the three minors obtained above-average results in their discernment assessment, indicating that they could distinguish right from wrong.
The three face complaints for robbery with homicide, which will be referred to the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office for appropriate proceedings.
Police have informed the victim’s children of his death, while relatives are expected to bring his remains back to Mindanao.