Personal grudge seen in siblings’ slay

Facial composite of the suspect in the siblings’ murder. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

After dismissing the drug angle, the head of the special task group investigating the death of the Rosales siblings said that the perpetrator might have a personal reason for wanting them dead.

“We did not know that Jhay-R was doing his own investigation. He stumbled upon something, that was why he was killed,” said Senior Supt. Joel Orduña, Southern Police District (SPD) deputy director for administration and Task Group Rosales head.

Petronio “Jhay-R” Rosales Jr., 34, was shot dead by a motorcycle-riding suspect in Oct. 26 in front of a bar in Makati. A worker in the United Kingdom, he had been in Manila for months to personally follow up the case of his sister who was killed on July 21.

Lauren Kristel, 26, was ina jeepney when she was shot dead by a man, also in Makati City.

Case investigator PO3 Rolando Villaranda said that Jhay-R’s relative told them that someone tried to hack into Lauren’s Facebook account on Oct. 19. The effort, however, was thwarted by her brother who was an IT specialist.

According to the relative, Jhay-R also managed to track down the hacker and the network’s IP address. The information has been turned over to the police.

The relative said that on Aug. 2, the sibling’s mother received a bouquet with the message: “Your debts have already been paid.”

“The suspects are mad at the siblings. There is a personal reason [behind these crimes],” Orduña said. “At this point, everybody is a person of interest, be it their friends, relatives or associates.”