Student kills woman after motel tryst

MANILA, Philippines - Manila police officers are searching for a foreign college student who allegedly killed a 55-year-old businesswoman after having sex with her at a motel in Morayta Thursday night.

The student – a “Russian or Persian” man aged 26 to 28 – was the last person seen with Virgie Francisco, Senior Police Officer 2 Glenzor Vallejo said.

Vallejo said Francisco checked in at the U-Belt Apartelle at 9:57 p.m. and the student, known only as “Frank,” followed a few minutes later. He left the motel 30 minutes later, leaving Francisco behind.

Motel employees usually call a room occupied by two customers if one is left behind, but since Frank was a regular, they did not call Francisco’s room.

After three hours, the room attendant called Francisco’s room to tell her they were supposed to check out. However, no one answered the phone after several tries, prompting the attendants to force the door open.

They found Francisco lying on the bed, unconscious, and with a head wound possibly caused by being hit with a blunt instrument, police said.

The attendants surmised that Francisco and the suspect quarreled, although they did not hear any commotion. They did not suspect that something was wrong because Frank was a regular at the motel.

The attendants rushed the victim to the University of Santo Tomas Hospital but she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Vallejo said they are trying to establish the identity of the suspect and will be conducting a follow-up operation.