MANILA, Philippines—The police have launched a manhunt for a male house helper in connection with the Sept. 19 killing of Zenaida Sison, the mother of actress Cherry Pie Picache.
Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Supt. Richard Albano identified the suspect as Michael Dy Flores who, days before the crime, was hired by Sison to work at her Quezon City residence during the day.
The 29-year-old Flores, who hails from Cebu City, has gone missing from his known address on Quezon Avenue, Barangay San Miguel, since Sison was found dead two weeks ago at her house on Dr. Lazcano Street in Barangay Paligsahan.
Chief Insp. Rodel Marcelo, head of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said Flores was spotted in a security camera footage of the area on the day of the killing and that he was the owner of the wet shirt and pair of shorts that were recovered at Sison’s house.
On that stormy Friday night, the 75-year-old victim was found dead in her second-floor bedroom, bearing multiple stab wounds and head injuries and with a piece of cloth stuffed in her mouth.
Investigators said Sison—who preferred to live alone—may have been killed by robbers, as the house bore signs of forcible entry.
A crow bar, a blood-stained knife and a chunk of wood believed to have been used in the crime were also found in the house.
The victim’s family later reported the loss of a cell phone and several pieces of jewelry.
Amid cries for justice from her show biz colleagues, Picache earlier said the police need not rush the investigation lest they send the wrong person to jail.