Suspect in slay of college student in Albay town nabbed

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LEGAZPI CITY — A 24-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday, in a remote village in Bacacay town in Albay province for allegedly raping and killing a college student on June 6, police said.

In a press conference, Police Major Irvin Bellen, chief of Bacacay police, said the suspect Ariel Marbella, was tracked down at around 12:15 p.m. after receiving information that he had been hiding in a mountainous part of Barangay (village) Hindi for three days now.

“The residents themselves helped us in locating the suspect. They were roving at their village because they were also angry over the incident,” he said.

At around 12:20 a.m. on Monday, Rhea Boneo, 22, was discovered with hack wounds and her clothes were ripped in a grassy area in Purok (zone) 3 of the said village.

The victim was a graduating accountancy student in a private school in the province.

READ: College student found dead in Albay

Bellen said the suspect, who was a resident of the same village, was positively identified by a witness.

“We have a witness that saw him at the crime scene and there was circumstantial evidence that he was the suspect in this case,” he added.

Marbella was previously arrested for robbery in 2019 but had an amicable settlement with his victim, Bellen said.

He is facing rape with homicide charges, but the police are still investigating for possible identification of other persons of interest.