THE body of murdered “investment fraudster” Armando Oppus could be claimed in a couple of days by a family member.

This after the police station in Balamban town, Cebu received a call from an unidentified relative, who asked for information about the funeral parlor that kept Oppus’s remains.

Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) Director Roderick Mariano said he had instructed the Balamban police to investigate any person who would claim the body of Oppus. Investigators, he said, must check if the claimant is really the victim’s relative.

Mariano said he wants to locate the whereabouts of Oppus’s relatives. He received an information that they were in Cebu days before the victim was murdered.

Though he refused to divulge the identity of the caller, Mariano said the caller could help in the investigation.

Oppus’s cohorts are still in Cebu, police believed. They fled Davao region when they were charged with syndicated estafa.

Oppus, 34, was the chief executive officer of Crowd Royals Real Estate Services, which was reportedly involved in a scam. His partners were Edmon Corona Quiñones and Judy Ann Delatina-Estrella.

“Hopefully, the body would be claimed so that we can interview the claimant and determine Oppus’s last moments,” Mariano said in Tagalog.

Mariano further said that the CPPO will continue coordinating with the Davao police, so the investigators could dig up more facts about Oppus’s life.

As of now, investigators have yet to determine the mastermind behind Oppus’s murder despite identifying some persons of interest in the case. A person of interest, in police lingo, means the person who may have knowledge about the crime, but he is not necessarily a suspect. (from AYB of Superbalita Cebu/JKV)