POLICE have identified two persons of interest (POIs) in the fatal shooting of 73-year-old American marine biologist Kent Carpenter, who was killed inside his home in Sibulan, Negros Oriental over the weekend.
In an interview with reporters, Negros Oriental police director Colonel Timmar Alam said the two persons of interest were the victim’s 34-year-old Filipina live-in partner who survived the attack and her sibling.
“Sa ngayon, she is still considered as POI (person of interest), bakit? Kasi unang-una siyempre hindi naman siya sinaktan at taga doon din siya, local din siya na resident doon,” he explained.
(As of now, she is still considered a person of interest (POI). Why? First of all, she was not harmed, and she is also from the area -- a local resident there.)
Alam said the woman had initially claimed that she was sexually assaulted by one of the intruders after being tied up with a cellphone charger cord.
However, the police official said a medico-legal examination did not support that allegation.
“We subjected her to a full vaginal swab and it yielded negative,” he said.
“Hindi po natin masabi na siya ay involved. Basta sa ngayon since she was left alive, probably po baka kilala or kilala siya nung mga suspects tapos baka hindi lang niya kilala ‘yung mga suspects, parang ganun. We are considering those angles,” he added.
(At this point, we cannot say that she was involved. For now, since she was left alive, one possible angle we are looking into is that the suspects may have known her, although she may not have known them. Those are among the angles we are currently considering.)
According to the woman, she and Carpenter had been living together for about seven years.
He said investigators included the sibling because he was among those who frequently visited the couple's residence.
Alam said investigators are also enhancing closed circuit television (CCTV) footage taken near the crime scene in a bid to identify the gunmen.
The policeman also disclosed that investigators found no evidence of forced entry despite the initial police report indicating that the suspects had forcibly entered the house.
He said the initial information came from the surviving victim immediately after the incident.
Investigators instead discovered that a portion of the property could be accessed by climbing onto an elevated terrace leading into the house.
Based on the evidence gathered so far, police believe robbery remains the strongest motive behind the killing.
The surviving victim reported that the suspects fled with more than P50,000 in cash, the victim's wallet containing about P25,000, a laptop computer, and a pair of binoculars.
Authorities are also trying to determine why Carpenter was immediately shot despite showing no signs of resistance.
"There is no indication that the victim fought back. He was simply seated when he was shot," Alam said.
He added that investigators are looking into the possibility that the suspects may have been under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol when they carried out the attack.
Although investigators are still examining all possible angles, Alam said the suspects' movements captured on CCTV suggest the crime may not have been carefully planned.
“Sa nakikita namin sa initial na mga CCTV yung mga galawan ng mga suspects para pong hindi naman siya ganun kaplanado kasi parang nasa mga 20s lang yung mga suspects. Nagkataon lang talaga na para bang yun yung plano nila manloob ng bahay, parang kung sino ‘yung may opportunity yun ‘yung papasukin nila, parang ganun ‘yung nangyari sa nakikita,” Alam added.
(Based on our initial review of the CCTV footage, the suspects' actions do not appear to have been that well planned. They also seem to be in their 20s. It appears that their intention was simply to break into a house, and they targeted whichever residence presented an opportunity. That is what we have observed so far from the footage.)
Still, police are not ruling out other motives, including speculation circulating on social media linking Carpenter's death to his professional work.
Carpenter had reportedly been serving as a volunteer in marine biology research and was teaching at a university in Dumaguete City.
The victim played an important role in the Philippines' successful arbitration case against China over the West Philippine Sea by serving as one of the country's scientific expert witnesses before the arbitral tribunal.
His testimony provided scientific support for the tribunal's findings that: Chinese fishermen had caused severe harm to coral reefs through destructive harvesting of endangered giant clams, China's island-building and dredging activities caused irreversible damage to coral reef ecosystems in the Spratly Islands, and that China failed to fulfill its obligations under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) to protect and preserve the marine environment. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)