Suspects tagged in slay of actress Picache’s mom

MANILA, Philippines–Three days after the mother of veteran actress Cherry Pie Picache was stabbed to death inside her house, the Quezon City police said they already have a lead on who the perpetrators may be although they did not give more details.

“We are eyeing some suspects but we are still validating the statements of the witnesses,” Quezon City Police District (QCPD) spokesperson Senior Insp. Maricar Taqueban said on Monday.

She refused to comment on the possibility that the crime was an “inside job.” “We can’t say that until we have the suspects,” Taqueban said.

The suspects were identified based on the testimonies of witnesses and other evidence such as wet clothes found inside the house, which did not belong to the victim, 75-year-old Zenaida Sison.

In a follow-up report on the crime, QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit head Chief Insp. Rodelio Marcelo said a witness saw two people, a man and a woman, in the street before the crime.

The witness said the recovered clothes—a pair of shorts and a shirt—appeared to be similar to those worn by one of the suspects. Probers earlier lifted fingerprints from at least one of the suspects inside the victim’s house.

Sison lived alone in her two-story house on Scout Dr. Lazcano Street in Barangay (village) Paligsahan, Quezon City. A maid, laundry woman and gardener reported for work only during the day.

Sison was found dead in her bedroom with multiple stab wounds and a piece of cloth stuffed into her mouth on Friday evening. Her body was discovered by Picache and her driver after the victim failed to reply to repeated phone calls earlier in the day as heavy rains and floods besieged Metro Manila due to Tropical Storm “Mario.”