‘Kae case far from over’

With five of the six suspects in the killing of advertising executive Kristelle “Kae” Davantes in the custody of the police, the victim’s family still believes the case is far from solved.

Davantes’ uncle Vince Davantes told the Inquirer on Sunday that he and the victim’s parents were having difficulty believing the suspects’ claim that they picked her at random and her case was that of a robbery gone awry.

“It’s hard to believe it was just robbery. It appears these men were after her, not her car or her valuables,” he said.

Vince based this assumption on the observations he made during the reenactment of his niece’s abduction and killing conducted by police Task Force Kae last Wednesday.

He said that if the suspects were merely after Davantes’ car and her valuables, they could have just driven away in her Toyota Altis because when they chanced upon her, there was no one inside the vehicle. At that moment, the victim was busy opening the gate to her family’s house in Moonwalk Village, Las Piñas City.

Instead of taking only the Altis, however, they grabbed her, forced her back into her car and then drove away.

Vince said there were also several inconsistencies in the suspects’ statements to the police and the evidence found at the crime scene. He likewise admitted that some posts made by concerned people on the Justice for Kae page on Facebook have caused him to think twice.

“We can’t help but have misgivings,” Vince said in a phone interview.

He added: “[Alleged mastermind Samuel] Decimo said he stabbed Kae outside the car, but how come there are bloodstains inside the car?”

Medico-legal reports also pointed to two kinds of bladed weapons that were used to kill Davantes. However, Vince noted that only one knife was found at the crime scene.

As for the suspects’ claim that Decimo was the one who orchestrated the victim’s abduction and killing, this was all Vince had to say: “Decimo is [probably] just a willing accomplice.”

“It seems that for the task force, the case is closed and they are probably tired. Maybe they can designate just one or two people to check out these concerns,” he said.

But Vince was quick to point out he was not contradicting the conclusions reached by the police and the National Bureau of Investigation. “We value their hard work and achievements. But we would just like to convey our apprehensions that some discrepancies may affect the prosecution of the suspects,” he said.

Aside from Decimo, the police have taken into custody Kelvin Jorek Evangelista, 19; Jomar Pepito, 23; Lloyd Benedict Enriquez and Reggie Diel, 30. They were charged with qualified theft and robbery with homicide.

All of them have admitted their participation in the killing. The sixth suspect identified as Baser Minalar remains at large.

Sought for his reaction, Chief Supt. Christopher Laxa, head of Task Force Kae Davantes and deputy director for operations of the National Capital Region Police Office, said they were convinced for now that the motive for the killing was robbery.

“We have said previously that the case is solved but we are not yet totally closing the investigation,” he told the Inquirer.—With a report from Jaymee T. Gamil