THE suspect who was apprehended by the police after he sold the cellphone of Rhea Mae Tocmo, who was found dead along the roadside Sitio Mohon, Barangay Tisa, Cebu City last July 17, 2023, admitted killing the 19-year-old victim.
Simeon Gabutero made an extra judicial confession in front of his lawyer and the media that while inside the room of their rented house in Sitio Sampaguita Banawa in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City around 6 a.m. on July 16, he lost control and locked the victim’s neck with his arm in a fit of rage after learning that the girl, who was from Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, had another partner.
After committing the murder, he went to a store on Legaspi Street and sold the victim's cell phone for P1,700. He then went back to their Banawa home and considered what to do with Tocmo's body.
He claimed that he had bound the victim’s body with the tire interior of his motorcycle, wrapped her in a blanket and placed her in a cardboard box of an electric fan, then at 10 around p.m. of July 16, he drove Rhea Mae to Sitio Mohon and dumped her body there.
"Nangutana ko niya nganong giingon ani ko nimo tarong man kaayo ko, bisan unsa imong pangayoon akung ihatag basta naa lang bisag construction worker ra ko. Mao to sige mig lalis kay nasakpan man naku siya nga naa siyay uyab unya mogamit sad siya ba ug naa sad siyay customer. Pagtan-aw naku sa bag niya naay lollipop tube, naay foil ug lighter mao to natuok nako siya. Wala ko magdahom nga mabuhat nako to ba nakalimot ko. Mao tong ako siyang gihigtan og interior guma nya giputos nakog habol puti, gisud nakog karton human gilabay nako didto dapit sa Tisa," Gabutero said.
(I asked her why she had treated me this way despite the fact that I was honest with her and provided her all she requested for as long as I could even though I am only a construction worker,. We kept fighting because I learned that she was a user, had a partner and a customer. When I saw a lighter, a foil, and a lollipop tube in her bag, I choked her. I forgot (out of rage) and didn't expect it to happen. I tied her up with a tire interior, wrapped her body in a white blanket, and put her inside a piece of cardboard. I then dumped her somewhere in Tisa).
Gabutero acknowledged committing the crime alone.
He described how, while the victim was still in Davao, he and Rhea Mae met through social media on December 5, 2022.
Because he was led to believe that the victim was still studying in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, he claimed that he consistently sent her money using GCash as financial support.
The suspect admitted that Rhea Mae threatened to end their relationship when he was unable to provide her money.
Gabutero gave the victim money ranging from P1,500 to P2,000 despite his meager salary because he loved Rhea Mae and wanted her to continue her studies.
"Mahigugmaon man gud ko niya, nagtarong gyud ko niya ba kay bisan gamay kog sweldo ako gyud paningkamotan nga makahatag ko niyag kwarta. P2,100 ra ako sweldo nya kuhaan pa nako sa akong pangkaon kanang sobra ana ako nang ihatag niya," Gabutero said.
(I really love her, I am honest with her. I tried my best to give her money despite earning a meager salary. My pay is merely P2,100, which covers my food and gives the rest to her).
Gabutero revealed that Rhea Mae asked P2,500 from him when they chatted each other on the night of July 15, 2023, and he invited her to come to Cebu so they could meet in person.
However, the girl informed him that she was already in Cebu, which surprised him because he thought the girl was studying in Mindanao.
He claimed that after that, he instructed the young woman to go to his boarding house in Sampaguita, where he would give her the cash.
But when they actually met, the girl claimed that she only treated him like a friend.
He said he took the victim to his room because she was intoxicated and requested his mother and sibling to go out of the house.
He claimed that the drug paraphernalia he found inside Rhea Mae's bag was what motivated him to kill the victim.
He claimed that around 10 p.m. on July 16, he took a motorcycle to Sitio Mohon and dumped the victim's body there.
His testimony reportedly coincided with that of the CCTV footage that showed the motorcycle leaving San Lorenzo Village in Barangay Guadalupe at 10:17 p.m., arriving in Sitio Mohon at 10:27 p.m. and left the area at 10:32. p.m. after throwing the carton and arrived back in Guadalupe at 10:49 p.m.
His testimony coincided with that of the CCTV footage showing the motorcycle passing through the San Lorenzo Village in Barangay Guadalupe at 10:17 p.m., arrived in Sitio Mohon at 10:27 p.m. and left the area at 10:32 p.m. after throwing the carton and returned to Guadalupe at 10:49 p.m.
In the CCTV, Gabutero had a companion who was holding the carton behind him, but the suspect refused to name him.
Police Major Angelito Valleser, the chief of Labangon Police Station, said that their evidence is strong considering the CCTV footage and the DNA test findings that match Gabutero.
During the killing, Rhea Mae was still holding Gabutero’s arm where the PNP Forensic Unit 7 obtained a sample of the victim's fingernail which was compared to the swab sample of Gabutero.
"The Y-chromosomal DNA profile obtained from the right fingernails of the victim (0116-23-f1604) matched the Y=chromosomal DNA profile obtained from the buccal swabs taken from the suspect 1, Therefore, either Simeon Camangyan Cabutero or any paternally related male relatives cannot be excluded as contributor of this DNA," according to the DNA result.
Gabutero signed his sworn affidavit in front of Fiscal Fatima Maadil at the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office and pleaded that all of the information in it was true.(With TPT)