A man was shot dead while his date was raped by a lone suspect in a secluded area at the Capayas Dam in Barangay Calanggaman in Ubay shortly before midnight on Friday.
Authorities identified the fatality as Jerome Matin-ao, 24, a resident of Barangay Tipolo, Ubay while the rape victim was identified as Leah Abay-Abay, 19, of the said town.
According to Ubay police chief Sr. Insp. Desiree Lavisto, the suspect, Rene Autor, 30, of Barangay Pag-asa of the same town was taken into police custody on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the crimes were committed.
Based on initial police investigation, Abay-Abay and Matin-ao, who also has a live-in partner, Analyn Autor, were on a date when Rene suddenly approached both victims.
Rene allegedly shot Matin-ao in the chest leading to his immediate death and dragged Abay-Abay to a grassy area and raped her twice.
The suspect then fled the area while Abay-Abay went straight to the police to report the incident.
According to Lavisto, Abay-Abay described Rene to authorities prompting police officers to bring the suspect to the station where the victim positively identified him as her rapist.
The police found out as they conducted further investigation that the suspect is the brother of Analyn, Matin-ao’s live-in partner.
Lavisto noted that the crime may have been premeditated as the suspect was always seen at the Capayas Dam when Matin-ao and Abay-Abay were also there.
Rene is now held at the Ubay Police Station pending the filing of rape and murder charges against him. (Allen Doydora)