Return to sender: Couple charged for rob-slay

The “sender” of a mysterious package that contained a note offering help to the Caloocan City police in solving the recent killing of a financial consultant has been traced—and he ended up being charged with the crime.

Police Wednesday filed robbery with homicide charges against Joselito Calma and his partner Ma. Cecilia Retita, a couple being linked to the killing of Jose Martinez at his house in GSIS Hills Subdivision, Barangay Talipapa on May 13.

The complaint placed the couple at the scene of the crime. Before killing Martinez, who was also a gun enthusiast, the two allegedly stole P100,000 in cash, 13 land titles, two handguns, several pieces of jewelry, cell phones, and the victim’s Honda CRV, it said.

Calma was arrested at Manila South Harbor on Aug. 10 while he was about to board a passenger ship, while Retita surrendered Monday night.

According to Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano, head of the Caloocan police investigation section, “Retita was the live-in partner of Martinez, but he did not know that Retita also had an affair with Calma, and the two plotted to kill Martinez.”

Investigators received a mysterious package in June which was believed to be part of a ploy to mislead the probe, Soriano recalled.

“We traced the branch (of the courier service) from where the package was sent and obtained security camera footage of the person who sent it, which we later on identified as Calma,” he said.

The package, addressed to Soriano and which contained a cell phone SIM card and one of the stolen land titles, also had a note from the sender saying he would cooperate with the investigation.

The note claimed that the mastermind, purportedly one of Martinez’s clients, had refused to pay the P1-million fee demanded by the actual killers.

“All of these were just meant to divert our attention to other angles,” Soriano added.

He said the police monitored Calma’s known address in Bulacan province and the other places he frequented, until they caught him boarding a passenger ship bound for the Visayas on Aug. 10.

Soriano said “Calma broke down and admitted planning” the killing with Retita and Ricardo Magat, the alleged gunman who remained at large.