Hours before the murder of model Julie Ann Rodelas took place, the suspects met at a restaurant in Pasay City and plotted her kidnapping, according to the video footage given to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).
The video, taken by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera at Ocean Bay Seafood House, showed Fernando Quiambao Jr. entering the establishment, followed by Efren Talib and and Jaymar Waradji.
The trio arrived at 8:40 p.m. on November 5 and dined for an hour. They left at 9:50 p.m., 10 minutes before the restaurant shut its doors for the day.
“From the footage, we can see that Waradji’s statement is really credible since the footage corroborates his claims,” said Inspector Elmer Monsalve, homicide section chief of the QCPD.
The QCPD presented the footage on Monday after the arraignment of Quiambao, Waradji and Althea Altamirano for Rodelas’ murder.
This is the second video recovered by the police that was used as evidence against the suspects.
Quiambao was first identified by the police as one of Rodelas’ killers through the footage taken by a CCTV camera at McDonald’s United Nations Avenue branch where he bought a burger takeout meal at 2:33 a.m. on November 6.
This was after the police discovered the receipt for the food clutched in Rodelas’ left hand when her body was found.
At a little past midnight of November 6, the victim was abducted by men in a black Mitsubishi Montero on Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City. She was later shot dead and her body dumped in Cubao, Quezon City.
In the footage taken at Ocean Bay Seafood House, Talib was shown wearing a red shirt as he followed Quiambao, who was in a white shirt, into the restaurant.
Waradji, who was wearing a black shirt, was the last to enter. He later told the police that as they ate, they discussed how they would kidnap the victim.