Hired killer gets stiffed, goes to cops

Manila, Philippines -  A man who claimed to have killed a financial consultant based in Caloocan City turned to the police after the alleged mastermind of the May 13 murder failed to pay his group P1 million for the job.

Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano, Caloocan City police investigation chief, said the still unidentified suspect, who he named only as Mel, sent him a letter identifying the mastermind in the killing of 44-year-old Jose “Joey” Martinez Jr. Mel also claimed to be a policeman, Soriano said.

“We were not paid P1 million for the job, so the group decided to have the mastermind arrested,” Mel wrote in Filipino, telling Soriano to “arrest the mastermind so that we could get even with him.”

Mel also said Martinez and the one who ordered him killed “have a deep conflict. We are only interested in the job.”

Soriano withheld the name of the alleged mastermind pending further investigation.”

Apart from the handwritten letter, Mel also sent the police one of the documents stolen from the house of Martinez and the SIM card of the victim’s missing mobile phone.

“This is our man, he could be our key to the early resolution of the crime. He showed us proof that he is for real, that he was one of the killers,” Soriano told The STAR.

Martinez was shot dead in the bedroom of his house at GSIS Hills Subdivision in Barangay 164 at around 2 a.m. on May 13.

Details

Mel said seven of them carried out the murder, not four as claimed by a witness. He also said the police could not find any sign of forced entry in the victims’ house because someone let them in.

The gunmen escaped with some P100,000, jewelry, mobile phones, and 13 land titles using the victim’s Honda CRV, which the suspects abandoned in La Loma, Quezon City.

Initial police findings showed the case was robbery with homicide but a spray-painted message on the wall of the victim’s house calling his elder sister, Jojie, a “lowly animal” and a “cheat” prompted investigators to conduct a deeper probe.

The victim’s family is engaged in money lending. They offered P200,000 bounty for information that would lead to the arrest the suspects.

Soriano said Mel appeared to be professional and was “very careful,” when he sent the package using a private parcel service firm. “Unknown to him, he was captured by a surveillance camera,” Soriano said.

Soriano asked the public to contact the Caloocan police if they have information on Mel’s whereabouts. He said Mel warned that they would “sacrifice” another member of Martinez’s family if they do not stop allegedly defrauding clients.