Delivery boy faces murder after stabbing hotel employee 70 times
A delivery boy is facing charges of murder and illegal possession of a deadly weapon after he confessed to police that he stabbed 70 times and killed a 29-year-old Solaire Casino Hotel employee inside her own condominium unit in Pasay City on Sunday.
Food stall delivery boy Ronald Rosello, 22, claimed that 29-year-old Rachelle Fernandez belittled and disrespected him so he waited for her at the doorstep of her condominium unit on the 8th floor of Park Avenue Mansion along Park Avenue in Pasay City and repeatedly stabbed her using a pair of scissors, instantly killing her around 7 a.m. Sunday.
Investigation by the Pasay City police revealed that Rosello, who was also a tenant on the 8th floor of the building, seemed to have memorized the routine of Rosello who usually went to work on that time.
The suspect admitted to the crime, saying it was his way to avenge the victim’s disrespect towards him and his job. He claimed that whenever they crossed paths, Fernandez would utter hurtful words at him.
When he was arrested while trying to escape the scene of the crime a few hours after, Rosello had wounds on his right hand and multiple scratches on his face and body indicating that Fernandez fought him off, SPO4 Ronaldo Frades, the case investigator, said.
The investigator said that Rosello initially stabbed the victim once or twice outside the door of her unit, pulled her inside her rented place then continued stabbing her several times, mostly at the back.
Ronaldo Reyes, the owner of the unit next to Fernandez’s, told the police that he heard a woman shouting for help but they initially disregarded it, thinking it was just a family quarrel next door.
Reyes said he later panicked when the suspect appeared at the window of their condo unit with blood all over his shirt after he left the victim’s place.
The witness said the suspect locked them inside their room and warned them not to tell anybody about what they saw. In an effort to escape, Reyes said he and his daughter went down to the 7th floor of building using their blanket, then reported the crime to the security guards on duty.
After a few hours, the suspect was seen leaving the building like nothing happened but the authorities were able to catch up with him before he was able to go far.
In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Frades said the police were still determining the motive of the suspect as friends and neighbors of the victim refuted Rosello’s allegations that she was mean. He said robbery and rape did not seem to be the motives either.
“All her valuables were intact and when she was found inside her apartment unit, there were no signs that she was sexually abused,” the investigator added.
Frades said the suspect could have been under the influence of drugs when he attacked Fernandez since the suspect’s live-partner told investigators that Rosello was an illegal drug user.
“No one in his right mind would stab someone 70 times for no reason at all,” Frades noted.
Asked if Rosello would be tested for illegal substances, the investigator said he would not be subjected to a drug test since there were no drugs found in his possession when he was arrested.
The suspect underwent inquest proceedings on Monday and he remained in the custody of the Pasay City police.
