The family of the 18-year-old student found dead in a lodging house in Toledo City, Cebu has cried for justice. Police have also coordinated with their counterpart in the Province of Misamis Oriental based on reports that the suspect is also a fugitive in his hometown after he was charged for the murder of his own father.

According to Albino Tagactac, the father of the victim, it is tough to think of the pain that his daughter had brutally gone through at the hands of a man she had only met online.

The body of the victim was submitted for an autopsy on September 23, 2024, but according to Police Major Ian Macatangay, spokesperson of the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO), the release of results may take days.

They are yet to verify the possibility of rape, he added.

Mae Fatima Tagactac, a Grade 12 student, was seen in a CCTV footage to be with a man in Barangay Poblacion, Toledo City.

On September 20, 2024 she was found dead in a room in a lodging house; her hands tied and her mouth gagged with a cloth.

Her father called on the man to turn himself in so that justice may be served.

The CCTV footage of a private establishment presented a clear recording of the two who arrived in the area together.

The man was later identified to be Lorben Cabugsan Larot, 43 years old.

A region-wide manhunt was launched to arrest the suspect. Police have coordinated with their counterpart in Misamis Oriental based on reports that the suspect is a fugitive in his hometown for the murder of his own father. 

His neighbors in the vicinity of Pier 1, Cebu City said that the last time they saw him was on Friday night, September 20, 2024.

He was seen having dinner with his live-in partner, said "Aida," owner of a room that the suspect had rented.

"Aida" said that it was in June 2023 when Larot asked to be accommodated after weeks of sleeping outdoors.

"Aida" added that the suspect eked out a living as a barker at the port and as a taxicab dispatcher.

Neighbors also observed that from the moment Larot arrived in the area, he was always seen sporting on a wig, or a cap, to hide his bald head. He would always wear a face mask or a cloth to cover his mouth.

Police Major Macatangay disclosed that the victim met the suspect through an online dating application.