AUTHORITIES arrested on Thursday, August 18, 2022, the suspect in the killing of 15-year-old female biker Princess Mari Dumantay, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) group said.
CIDG Director Police Brigadier General Ronald Lee said Gaspar Maneja Jr. was arrested in Pamplona, Camarines Sur around 12:55 p.m.
Dumantay was found dead in a grassy area along Bypass Road in Barangay Bonga Menor, Bustos, Bulacan on the morning of August 12, two days after she was reported missing.
Based on the autopsy report, she was raped before she was killed.
According to the bereaved family, Dumantay left home on August 10 to meet Maneja, who they know as Jose Francisco Santos.
Dumantay, a bike enthusiast, told his family that Maneja promised to give her a bike.
The suspect was identified through the accounts of the witnesses who saw him together with Dumantay on August 10 on board the suspect’s vehicle.
Maneja has three outstanding arrest warrants from the Presiding Judge Family Court, Third Judicial Region Branch 5, San Jose Del Monte Bulacan for the offenses of RA 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (Anti-Child Abuse Law); and rape without bail recommended.
Charges for rape with homicide were filed against the suspect. (SunStar Philippines)