NCRPO chief berates suspect in killing of elderly couple

MANILA, Philippines— Police Major General Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, on Wednesday berated the prime suspect in the killing of an octogenarian couple in Quezon City.

Eleazar and Police Brig. Gen. Joselito Esquivel Jr., Quezon City Police District chief, confronted suspect Carl Joseph Bañanola who admitted to the slay of the elderly couple. The suspect, however, said he did not inteend to kill the couple and that he was under the influence of illegal drugs.

This, despite Police Gen. Oscar Albayalde, Philippine National Police chief, saying in June 2018 that suspects will no longer be presented to media, citing a 2007 memorandum that said doing so "subjects them to unwanted publicity that could besmirch their name and reputation, including that of their family."

The NCRPO chief, who used to head the Quezon City police, scolded the suspect and said he should be executed for his acts.

“Mabulok ka sa kulungan ha. Ikaw ang dapat na binibitay e. T*** i**! Robbery with homicide? Dalawang matatanda? Dahil sa pagdo-droga papatayin, nanakawan [mo]?” an angry Eleazar said while pointing fingers at Bañanola.

(Rot in jail. You should be executed. S** of a b****! Roberry with homicide?  Two elders? Just because of drugs you will kill and rob)

Bañanola, 37, admitted stabbing the elderly couple, Nicolas Austria, 86, and his wife Leonora, 87 to death and injuring their helper Editha Fernandez, 63, last Sunday.

READ: Robbery eyed in couple’s slay

He was arrested along 4th Avenue in Caloocan City on Tuesday evening following a hot pursuit operation by operatives of Novaliches Police Station in coordination with QCPD’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU), Northern Police District Intelligence Division (NPD-DID) and Caloocan Police Station.

According to the police report, the Austria couple was discovered bloodied and lifeless while the Fernandez was found lying inside the dirty kitchen with fracture on the head and bruises on her body in their residence at a subdivision in Barangay San Agustin, Novaliches, Quezon City.

The incident was reported by the couple’s daughter, Maria Liza Austria, who visited her parent’s home.

Nicolas is a retired engineer while Leonora is a retired government employee.

Maria Liza became suspicious when no one was answering the gate despite repeated knocking. She then sought help from barangay officials and discovered the crime scene.

The investigators and operatives identified the identity of the suspect after interviewing the helper who got injured and was still confined at the Capital Medical Center.

The bloodied red shirt and short pants recovered at the crime scene was also recognized by a witness, who was also a former co-worker of the suspect. The witness confirmed seeing Bañanola wearing those clothes in the past.

The investigators also recovered cash amounting to P16,000, believed to be part of the P38,000 missing from the victims’ house.

Bañanola will face cases of robbery with homicide and frustrated murder filed against him at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

Eleazar is considered among the top contenders to succeed Albayalde as PNP chief.