DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 02 May) — Davao City remains a “safe place” for tourists despite the gruesome killing of a couple who visited this city to watch the concert of American rock band, We the Kings, last April 21, an official of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) said.
During the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) Press Conference on Wednesday, Capt. Hazel Tuazon, spokesperson for DCPO, said the incident was an “isolated case” as it happened inside the Camella Northpoint condominium and that local authorities are doing their best to resolve the case.
She said keeping the city’s “peace and order” remains to be the top priority of the local police.
“May mga pangyayari na hindi talaga natin mapipigilan kagaya nito. Gagawain natin lahat para ma file yung kaso (There are incidents that we really cannot prevent like this one. Nevertheless, we will do our best to file the case),” she said.
She assured the public that the investigators are doing their best to determine the suspects who killed Jeffrey Patac Predas and his girlfriend, Jennifer Delos Santos Chavez.
She said that based on initial investigation, accounts from friends and families pointed to “love triangle” or “crime of passion” as the motive behind the killing of the victims who were live-in partners for eight years.
She added that the two persons of interests, one of whom helped Chavez book the condominium unit, are cooperating with the police.
Tuazon said the investigators collected blood samples from the crime scene, which were already taken for DNA testing. He said he hopes that results could help authorities identify the suspects.
Chavez, a resident of Bacoor, Cavite, arrived in Davao around 11 a.m. on Saturday while her boyfriend, Predas, arrived around 3 p.m. of the same day.
Around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, a 25-year-old call center agent, who was a resident of the same building, saw Predas with nine stab wounds on the ground outside the condominium unit.
At 10:15 p.m. of the same day, police discovered the body of Chavez inside their rented condominium unit on the third floor. Tuazon said the female victim also had stab wounds.
Tuazon said Predas was already dead before he was pushed from the upper floor of the condominium unit.
She said based on autopsy results, Predas died of multiple stab wounds on his chest while Chavez, of stab wounds on her neck.
She said that they have yet to determine if he was pushed out from the window of their rented unit on the third floor since investigators also found some blood stains on the sixth floor. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
