The Philippine National Police (PNP) revealed on Monday that three of the seven suspects in the murder of beauty queen Geneva Lopez and her Israeli fiancé Yitzhak Cohen are former policemen.
“Dismissed na po yung tatlong pulis natin… Isa sa Angeles at dalawa sa NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office). They were dismissed in late 2019, 2018, sa records po natin,” PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil stated in an ABS-CBN News report.
Lopez, 27, and Cohen, 37, went missing on June 21 after meeting a middleman to inspect a piece of land they were interested in buying in Tarlac. Their remains were discovered at a remote quarry site over the weekend.
Marbil indicated that robbery is the primary motive behind the crime. “Yung motibo po practically is robbery… Baka may dalang pera po yung magkasintahan. Doon po nag-e-evolve yung kaso natin,” he explained to TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
Five of the suspects are currently in police custody, while two others remain at large. Investigators are confident that they have “enough evidence” against the seven individuals, especially after one of the suspects admitted his involvement in burying the couple. “Based doon sa evidence namin, based sa testimony niya, he was not part noong pagpatay. But he was part doon po sa paglibing po ng mga tao,” Marbil clarified.
Both Lopez and Cohen had gunshot wounds, according to the police chief. The couple was last seen riding an SUV, which was later found burned and abandoned in Capas on June 22.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos emphasized that authorities “will not rest until those responsible are held accountable.”