Suspect in rape-slay of Bacacay lass arrested

By Mark A Gomez

The primary suspect in the rape-slay of 22-year old Rhea Bejerano Boneo of Bacacay, Albay, who was supposed to graduate with honors in Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at the Divine World of College in Legazpi City this coming July 7, 2022, was captured by police authorities on Wednesday (June 8) afternoon.

Photos and video footages posted on Facebook show the suspect Ariel Marbella without a shirt being led by a man inside the Bacacay municipal police station. In another photo, the suspect was held by two men after he was captured hiding near a river bank in the same town.

On Monday, June 6, the municipal mayor of Bacacay, Albay offered a P50,000 reward for information on the whereabouts and or capture of Marbella.

In a statement, Mayor Dinky Romano said that suspect Ariel Marbella is also a resident of Bacacay and had previous police record for involvement in a robbery incident.

Romano said that to speed up the arrest of the suspect, the Bacacay local government is offering a P50,000 cash reward to any person who could provide information on the whereabouts and or capture of the suspect.

To recall, in the afternoon of June 5, the victim asked permission from her parents to go out to withdraw the P500 that her sibling who works in Sorsogon City deposited in her account.

When the victim did not return home after a few hours, her parents became worried and reported the incident to the authorities. The victim’s parents said their daughter was not fond of staying out of the house.

After a day of searching for the whereabouts of the victim, her lifeless body was found in an isolated area in Zone 3, Barangay Hindi of the same town, where she usually passed through on her way home.

Police said that the victim was raped and killed by the suspect. Her neck was lacerated and her garments were torn.

The victim was the second and only girl of the four children of Bartolome and Francia Bonea. She was also the breadwinner in the family.