Police nab ‘freezer murder’ suspect

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Sta. Cruz, Laguna—Police on Thursday announced they have arrested the suspect in the murder of two women, whose bodies were crammed inside a chest freezer for days before they were discovered.

Ben Fajardo Corpuz was arrested in Barangay Uno in the municipality of San Mateo in Isabela province at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Senior Supt. Gilbert Cruz, Laguna police director.

Corpuz was pinpointed as the alleged killer of Letecia Lupian and Vilma Bandilao in San Pablo, Laguna, where their bodies were found frozen stiff inside a freezer last June 22.

The victims, believed to have been killed three to four days earlier, were workers in the same furniture factory where Corpuz also worked as a driver.

Cruz said in a text message that a civilian informant reported that Corpuz was seen sighted scouting for an apartment in Isabela on June 28.

The Laguna police forwarded the information to local authorities in Isabela for the arrest of Corpuz.

Corpuz was expected to be turned over to the San Pablo City police at noon Thursday to face charges of double homicide.

The city government of San Pablo is giving the civilian informant a reward for the information that helped capture the suspect.