OLONGAPO CITY – Police on Wednesday arrested one of the suspects in the slaying of a 23-year-old woman whose body was found in a dike in San Felipe, Zambales, last month, Mayor Rolen Paulino said.
Paulino said Niño de la Cruz, one of the two suspects in the killing of Karie Ces “Aika” Mojica, was arrested by members of the police’s Special Action Force (SAF) in Metro Manila on Wednesday afternoon after almost three weeks of manhunt. The mayor, however, did not provide other details on the arrest.
Mojica, a resident of Barangay Sta. Rita here and an employee of a local supermarket, was found dead in a portion of the Sto. Tomas River dike in San Felipe town on July 25.
De la Cruz and another suspect, Filipino-American Jonathan Dewayne Viane, 29, had been charged with murder at a regional trial court in Zambales. Viane was able to leave for the United States on July 26 as policemen started the manhunt against them.
Josar Mojica, the victim’s father, earlier pleaded for the immediate arrest of Viane.
He suspected that his daughter had been dragged into the suspect’s marital problem. The elder Mojica said his daughter and the suspect’s wife, who is based in the US, were friends.
He said Viane left his wife in the US and took their son here in April amid a custody issue.
“My daughter had given the suspect’s wife information on his whereabouts here. I think that’s the real motive behind this,” the father told reporters earlier.
A witness had told police that she and Mojica went to a local videoke bar at 10 p.m. on July 24. At about 2 a.m. the following day, the witness said she accompanied Mojica to meet Viane at a gasoline station to talk about the supposed problem between the suspect and his wife.
The victim’s body was found at about 6 a.m. in San Felipe. Police described the victim’s body as “partly burnt” and her hands tied with a black plastic strap. Recovered from the area were three empty shells from a 9mm pistol. Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon