Police have arrested the two more suspects in the killing of a 19-year-old coed in Tagum City on July 9, bringing to four the number of suspects in custody.
The alleged leader of the group identified as Roylan Gabriel Ampan, 18, of Barangay Caningag, Caraga, Davao Oriental was the last to be apprehended for the murder.
Ampan was nabbed in Agdao, Davao City Sunday noon, following intensive manhunt operation.
The fourth suspect, a minor, was collared on Friday, July 11, during a follow up operation in Tagum City.
Except for Ampan, all the suspects were minors, aged to 14, 15 and 17. Police said the suspects all came from Maragusan, Davao De Oro.
Two of the suspects, aged 14:and 15, were captured just hours after the body of the victim, Sophia Coquilla, a student of the state-run University of the Philippines in Manila, was found in her bedroom in Tagum City with multiple knife wounds in the body.
Police theorized that Coquilla was awakened by the ongoing burglary, forcing the suspects to kill her
The assailants fled with the victim’s laptop, two wristwatches, and an iphone.
Police confiscated a 38 caliber revolver from Ampan.
Meanwhile, Davao del Norte Rep. De Carlo Oyo Uy, during a visit to Coquilla’s wake, vowed to revisit the law on young criminal offenders with a view to enhancing the provisions for fair and impartial investigation, as well as giving the juvenile offenders a second chance to live a productive lawful life.
Uy said poverty and lack of education were major factors why minors get on the other side of the law.
