The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) has officially filed murder complaints against five individuals suspected of involvement in the killing of beauty queen Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend, Yitshak Cohen. The charges, consisting of two counts of murder, were submitted to the Department of Justice, according to a statement from PNP-CIDG legal division head Thomas Valmonte during a press interview on Thursday.
Valmonte revealed that the group, which includes two former policemen, allegedly conspired to murder the couple. “They held a meeting; that’s why there are allegations of conspiracy. They met and planned the actual killing of the two victims,” Valmonte explained in Filipino, indicating the level of coordination involved in the crime.
Although Valmonte refrained from disclosing the identities of the accused, he confirmed that two of the respondents carried out the shooting, while a third was responsible for disposing of and burying the bodies. The victims’ remains were later discovered in Barangay Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac, on July 6, nearly two weeks after they were reported missing on June 22.
The legal chief also shed light on the motive behind the brutal killings, which stemmed from a land transaction in Tarlac. The land had been pawned to Lopez and Cohen by the respondents. However, the situation escalated when the respondents sought to reclaim the land documents without returning the money that had been exchanged as part of the agreement.
“Based on the investigation, the land was pawned by the respondents to the victims. It seems like they wanted to take back the land documents from the victims. However, the victims didn’t want to return them because, of course, they had given money,” Valmonte explained.
The investigation further revealed that the respondents lured Lopez and Cohen to a specific location under the pretense of facilitating a sale, only to lead them to the site where the murders were premeditated and executed.
Authorities continue to seek justice for Lopez and Cohen, as the PNP-CIDG pushes forward with its legal actions against those responsible for the heinous crime.