PNP: 5 suspects in kidnap-slay of pharma exec surrender, admit crime

Five of the 11 suspects in the kidnapping and death of a pharmaceutical executive have already surrendered to authorities, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday.

Among those who turned themselves over to the police is a 13-year-old.

According to PNP spokesperson Jean Fajardo, the suspects surrendered on August 8 and 11 and admitted to their participation in the crime.

“May lima po tayong suspects na sumuko po voluntary surrender at based po sa kanilang mga sinumpaang salaysay ay ipinahayag niya ang kanilang partisipasyon dito nga po sa incident,” Fajardo said.

(There are five suspects who have surrendered voluntarily and based on their sworn statements, they admitted their participation in the incident)

The suspects in their statements said victim Eduardo Tolosa was killed as early as July 19.

On August 19, an official of Tolosa's company received a message demanding a P100-million ransom. Another message asking for money was again received on September 1.

Fajardo said the suspects were young people including the 13-year-old. She said they told the police how the primary suspect recruited them.

She said the stories of the suspects who surrendered were clear. They narrated how they cleaned the crime scene and dug a hole to bury the victim. They also presented the rock that was smacked to the victim.

Because of fear, the suspects told their parents about the incident who pushed them to report to authorities, according to Fajardo.

On July 19, the body of the victim was buried. But, the primary suspect instructed the other suspects to burn the victim. According to the statement of one of the suspects, it took three days to burn the remains.

Due to this, Fajardo said only small pieces of bones were retrieved from the ashes of the remains. No more DNA was extracted from them.

According to Fajardo, Tolosa was familiar with the victims. They were neighbors and played basketball together.

She added that the primary suspect was speaking about his plot against the victim as early as May.

Right now, two primary suspects who are siblings and four more suspects are still at large, according to Fajardo. —NB, GMA News