POLICE arrested yesterday a 20-year-old man and his 16-year-old alleged cohort for the killing a public school teacher in Barangay Cansaga, Consolacion.
Joshua Ybañez allegedly was the one who stabbed Herald Ponce Batuigas, whose body was found floating in a swamp at the back of a mall in the northern town.
His companion Marley (real name withheld for being a minor) told investigators he was with Ybañez when the incident happened last Sunday night.
Witnesses
PO1 Socrates Borinaga said investigators were able to solve the crime after neighbors told them they saw Marley with Batuigas, a teacher at the Pilar National High School in Camotes, radio dyAB reported.
Marley, when asked about the incident, said the victim wanted to have sex with Ybañez.
Ybañez agreed in exchange for a fee.
Batuigas told the suspects he did not have money. Ybañez asked for his cell phone instead, but the victim refused to hand it over.
This prompted Ybañez to allegedly stab Batuigas in the right shoulder.
When the teacher fell on the ground and became unconscious, the suspects dragged his body and dumped it into the swamp.
Denial
Borinaga said the victim possibly died from blood loss.
Ybañez, however, denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, Marley told the investigators he was not told by Ybañez that they would kill the teacher. He admitted he feared for his life after witnessing the crime.
The minor was brought to the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 to determine if he acted with discernment.
Murder complaints will be filed against the suspects before the Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor today.
