Geneva Lopez, a Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2024 candidate, and her boyfriend, Yitchak Cohen. —photo from Presy Carreon Lopez Facebook
CAPAS, TARLAC, Philippines — Police found the bodies of missing Pampanga beauty pageant contestant Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend Yitshak Cohen buried in a grassy area in a remote village here on Saturday morning, two weeks after their reported disappearance.
A report by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said the bodies were exhumed from a parcel of land in Barangay Sta. Lucia. Authorities, before they could dig, first secured a warrant from a local court in Tarlac, the couple’s last known destination before they went missing.
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After the “heartbreaking discovery,” police work now shifts to finding those responsible for the death of Lopez, 27, and Cohen, 37, said Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, one of the officials who confirmed the identity of the bodies.
‘Witness’ pinpointed grave
Police sources said family members of the missing couple also made a positive identification based on their clothes and physical features. The bodies were brought to Lotus funeral home in Barangay San Vicente, Tarlac City, for autopsy and DNA analysis.
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Reported missing on June 21, Lopez and Cohen were last seen alive when they left their residence in Malabanias, Angeles City. Initial investigation showed that they were supposed to meet a middleman for the purchase of a 20.5-hectare agricultural land in Armenia, Tarlac City.
On June 22, their sport utility vehicle was found abandoned and burnt at Barangay Cristo Rey in Capas, Tarlac.
In a media interview on Friday, Cohen’s older brother Yanic clarified that the couple went to Tarlac not to inspect the land but to already get the title to the property, which he said the couple had already bought several years back.
In its report, the CIDG said “a witness” had cooperated with the police and pinpointed the location of the bodies in a piece of land owned by a certain “Mr. Pamintuan.”
The makeshift grave itself was located within a quarrying site in Barangay Sta. Lucia, according to a separate statement from the Philippine National Police, the CIDG’s mother unit.
Persons of interest
A search warrant issued on July 5 by Judge Edwin Sunga Bonifacio of Tarlac City Regional Trial Court Branch 111 allowed authorities to proceed with the exhumation in the presence of Santa Lucia village chief Cesario David Bautista Jr. and councilman Ronald Pachico, the CIDG said.
The bodies were found a day after the PNP said it had identified a former police officer and six civilians as “persons of interest” in the case.
The Lopez and Cohen families earlier offered a cash reward totaling P500,000 for information that could lead to the couple’s whereabouts. Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. offered a separate P100,000 reward.
“This heartbreaking discovery underscores our unwavering resolve to bring justice to all victims,” Abalos said in the PNP statement. “We will not rest until those responsible are held accountable. Justice will be served.”
“We are committed to ensuring that justice prevails, not just in this case, but in all instances where the innocent suffer,” Abalos added.
Giving the same assurance, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil also commended the Special Investigation Task Group formed for the case, for being “instrumental in piecing together the events leading to the couple’s disappearance and ensuring that every lead was meticulously followed.”
“Their efforts have been crucial in bringing this case to light, and their work continues as the investigation proceeds,” Marbil said. —with a report from Nestor Corrales