Suspect owns rape-slay of colonel’s teenage daughter

The principal suspect in the rape-slay of a teenage daughter of a retired army colonel in Caloocan City admitted yesterday to committing the gruesome crime.

Officer on case PO3 Carmelito Silvino of the Caloocan City Police Station 1 said that suspect Leo Lloyd Dizon, 19, single, of Block 5-D Lot 13 Cristina Homes, Camarin, admitted to the police that he raped and killed Richell Karen Mamaril, a third-year high school student at the Camarin High School Annex, on the night of Feb. 22.

Silvino said Dizon made the admission in the presence of his counsel, Atty. Juan Templonuevo, and guardian, Adelaida Dizon.

Silvino added that the Caloocan police has filed charges of rape with homicide against Dizon in the fiscal’s office.

The suspect is now detained at the city police detention cell.

According to Silvino, Dizon also admitted that he merely implicated Virgilio Belano alias Tabor, 18, single, jobless, of Camarin, and a certain Ariel Imperial, because of a grudge against Belano.

Imperial was allegedly Mamaril’s boyfriend.

Police arrested Belano at around 8 p.m. last Friday. He was released after Dizon’s admission of the crime.

Silvino added that Imperial has told the police that he will voluntarily present himself to the authorities to clear his name.

Quoting the suspect’s confession, Silvino said that the victim was Dizon’s friend and that on the night of Feb. 25, she went to the auto-repair shop where Dizon is a caretaker and asked if she could spend the night there.

"I have a strong feeling that the suspect was under the influence of drugs when he raped and killed his friend," Silvino said.

Mamaril’s body was found by a barangay tanod in a vacant lot near Camachili St., Cristina Homes early the next day. She was still in her school uniform.

Initial investigation showed that the victim had two deep slash wounds in her neck, and a hack wound in her hand. Bloodstains were found on her white underwear.

Bloodstains traced from the vacant lot led to the auto repair shop several meters from where Mamaril’s body was discovered.

Police arrested Dizon, after rousing their suspicions as he was seen loitering around the crime scene. Dizon a stay-in worker at the auto-repair shop, had bruises in his left hand and bloodstains in some parts of the body.

Recovered from the scene were an eight-inch meat cleaver, a blood soaked peach bed sheet, and Mamaril’s school bag containing books and some clothes.

Dizon initially denied committing the crime and said that he saw Belano raping the girl and Imperial slashing her throat. – with Jerry Botial