Police identifies killer of Senator's aunt
The joint team of the Jaro police precinct, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), 6th Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Jaro police precinct have already identified the suspect in the murder of Adelina Palma-Bermejo, aunt of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Senior Inspector Harry Decena, chief of the Jaro police precinct, said the suspect is a former househelp of the victim's sister Liberty. He, however, declined to name the suspect pending the filing of robbery and homicide complaint against him before the City Prosecutors Office (CPO).
Decena said the suspect already left Liberty's residence when he committed the murder. There is also no evidence to link the victim's sister in the killing of Bermejo. They are also checking on whether the suspect has other accomplices when the crime was committed.
He added, the victim's daughter is conducting an inventory of the personal valuables of Bermejo. Police theorized the suspect took away some of the victim's valuables. The police is waiting for the inventory report.
Bermejo, 73, is a sister of Senator Santiago's mother Dimpna. She lives alone in her house. Before the victim's bloodied bloody was discovered, her neighbors heard a man knocking on the door of her house.
The man allegedly identified himself as Robert when asked by the victim before she opened the door. It gave investigators an idea that the victim knew her assailant because she allowed him to enter.
Bermejo's body was found by her sister Rose inside her residence at Kahirup Village, Cubay, Jaro morning of August 28, 2008. She bore fatal stab wounds.
Bermejo, a registered nurse and a US pensioner, was found lying near monobloc chair inside her residence. The 12-inch knife used by the suspect was still tucked in her body.
She was immediately rushed to Western Visayas Medical Center for treatment but did not survive. A police car was used to bring the victim to the hospital.
Earlier, Sen. Santiago asked Mayor Jerry Treñas to tap the help of the NBI to solve the murder of her aunt.
Decena said they have one witness who positively identified the suspect as Bermejo's assailant. Three other witnesses corroborated the statement of the primary witness.
Investigators are still finalizing the signing of sworn affidavits of the witnesses which is a prerequisite in the filing of the complaint against the suspect. The authorities have on hand an autopsy report of the victim and crime scene report of the Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO). The autopsy was conducted by Dr. Owen Lebaquin of the Regional Police Crime Laboratory.