Cops nab 7 suspects in retired judge's slay in Dagupan

Police authorities arrested seven house helpers suspected in the recent killing of Corazon Merrera, an 80-year-old retired judge in Pangasinan. Police Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr., chief of the National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said the suspects are wanted for the death of Merrera, who sustained several stab wounds. The body of the victim was discovered at around 7:45 a.m. on Saturday by her 49-year-old son Roberto Merrera at the second floor of her house inside Trinidad Subdivision, Dagupan City. The police identified the suspects as Genny Romano, 22; Christian Benedict Lagatao, 20; John-John Basa alias Romelie, 22; Jeriel Cadelina, 21; Felipe Quillope, 47; Jacob Mendiola, 19; and Michael de Guzman. Authorities said Romano was the first one to be arrested by operatives from the Ilocos Regional Police Office. The suspect claimed that he only saw the other suspects kill the victim. The police later arrested the six other suspects, who later faced murder complaints before the Dagupan City prosecutor's office. During a re-enactment of the attack on Tuesday, however, Romano ended up confessing that he and Quillope, a fellow house helper from Dumaguete City, were actually the ones who killed the retired judge. Authorities already submitted Romano's written confession to the prosecutor's office as additional evidence. Asked what pushed them to slay the elderly judge, the suspects said the victim maltreated them and gave them low salaries. - VVP, GMA News