The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that 3 out of the 7 persons of interest in the killing of beauty queen Geneva Lopez and her Israeli fiancé Yitzhak Cohen were former members of the police force.
PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, quoted by reports, said one of the dismissed cops was from Angeles, and two were from the National Capital Region Police Office.
The said former PNP members were dismissed in late 2019 and 2018 according to PNP records, Marbil said.
Lopez, 27, and Cohen, 37, went missing after meeting a middleman to inspect a property that they were interested in buying in Tarlac on June 21. The couple’s remains were found at a remote quarry site over the weekend.
Investigators are looking at robbery as the primary motive in the crime, Marbil, quoted by ABS-NEWS, said. “The motive is practically robbery,” the official said.
Five persons of interest in the case are in police custody, while two others remain at large, the PNP chief said.
Investigators meanwhile said they are confident that they have “enough evidence” against the 7 individuals tagged in the crime after one of them admitted that he was involved in burying the couple.
Marbil said the person who admitted to burying the couple “was not part of the killing” based on the person’s testimony.
Both the Kapampangan beauty queen and her fiancé had gunshot wounds, Marbil noted. The couple was last seen riding an SUV that was later found burned and abandoned in Capas on June 22.
Authorities “will not rest until those responsible are held accountable,” Department of theInterior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said.
