CEBU CITY – A murder complaint was filed against the construction worker who admitted killing a 19-year-old woman from Panabo City, Davao del Norte here last month.

Simeon Gabutero was finally charged over a month after the gruesome killing of Rhea Mae Tocmo.

The Labangon Police Station headed by Police Major Angelito Valleser also charged Gabutero’s 15-year-old brother before the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office.

The 15-year-old boy accompanied his older brother in dumping a cardboard box where Tocmo’s body had been placed.

The boy, however, claimed that he didn’t know that the box contained Tocmo’s body.

Valleser said it’s up to the court to determine whether the 15-year-old boy is innocent or not.

He expressed confidence that they have an airtight case against Gabutero.

Gabutero was also arraigned for a separate case of illegal possession of firearms in which he pleaded guilty.

Tocmo’s body was found stuffed in a box that was dumped on the side of the road in Barangay Tisa on July 17.

Gabutero was initially arrested for an unlicensed firearm on July 29.

Witnesses informed the police that Gabutero was the person who sold the missing cellphone of Tocmo.

Gabutero eventually admitted killing Tocmo in his boarding house in Barangay Guadalupe.

He admitted choking the victim to death after he found out that Tocmo was communicating with other men.

The suspect said he and Tocmo became lovers last December 5 while the woman was in Davao City.

Tocmo arrived in Cebu last June 14 and stayed in a boarding house in Mandaue City. The two met for the first time on July 16 but the meeting ended up in the woman’s tragic death. 
 

Source: Manila Bulletin (https://mb.com.ph/2023/8/18/murder-raps-filed-vs-laborer-who-killed-woman-19-from-panabo-city)