June 19, 2011. It was just a normal day for Maria Luisa Del Villar when she got a call from her friend Charlene Lupian all the way from Belguim. Charlene was worried. She’s been trying to contact her family in Laguna for four days but to no avail.

The next day, Luisa decided to go check up on the Lupians at their residence in Mariflor Subdivision, Barangay Del Remedio, San Pablo City, Laguna.

 “Bukas ang radyo, lahat ng ilaw bukas, tapos naririnig namin ang electric fan, naka-on din,” Luisa recalls. “Katok kami nang katok, wala. Pinuwersa na namin [ang pinto].”

Everything was in order when they entered the house. But the chest freezer caught their attention. The Lupians haven’t been using the freezer for a while and they found it peculiar that it was turned on.

They opened the freezer and were shocked by what they saw.

“Kutson ang nasa ibabaw,” Luisa recalls. “Sinilip niyang kaunti, ooops, buhok ng tao, tapos sinara namin agad.”

They immediately called the San Pablo police.

“Noong tingnan namin, nakita namin doon sa loob ng freezer, mayroong kutson ng kama, mga damit, mga kahon ng mga gamit na hindi naman pangkaraniwan na nasa freezer” former PNP-San Pablo investigator PO2 Serafin Gapunan says. “Nung inangat naming kaunti, merong mga dugo. Tao talaga. Parang karne siya na frozen. Tumambad talaga ang dalawang babae, magkapatong sa loob ng freezer.”

Since the women were frozen hard, it took a couple of hourse before the authorities were able to separate them from each other. The victims were identified as Leticia Lupian, 45 years old, and her niece Vilma Bandilao, 24 years old.

Crime scene. 45-year-old Leticia Lupian and her niece, 24-year-old Vilma Bandilao were found dead and frozen inside a freezer.

Based on initial investigation, there was no forced entry. And the authorities believed that the victims knew their perpetrator. They also found several evidences at the crime scene. One particular evidence is a hammer covered with blood.

Frozen victims.

Frozen evidence

As inhuman as it was, because they were preserved in a frozen state, the bodies were examined more thoroughly. Based on post-mortem examination, both victims sustained hard blows to the head.

“Natuklap ang kanilang mga balat, natuklap ang kanilang bunbunan,” medico-legal officer P/Supt. Roy Camarillo, M.D. says. “Ito ang naging sanhi ng pagkabasag ng bungo nila at eventually nagkaroon ng pagdudugo sa kanilang utak. Doon sa pattern ng mga injuries sa ulo, ang unang naisip ko na instrumentong pwedeng ginamit sa kanila ay martilyo.”

P/Supt. Camarillo also believed that Leticia was still alive when she was slid inside the freezer. “Napansin namin doon sa kanyang daanan ng hangin o ang tinatawag na trachea, mayroon siyang reaksyon, namamaga. Kumbaga merong spasm,” he says. “So isang indikasyon ito na humihinnga pa ‘yung biktima nung ilagay siya sa freezer.”

Moreover, there were indications that the victim was raped. “Napansin namin na merong gasgas doon sa tinatawag na posterior forchet, isang palatandaan na maaring pinuwersa,” P/Supt. Camarillo adds. “Positibo na merong seminal stain na nakuha namin sa ari ng babae.”

String of crimes

As the horror the two victims experienced continued to unfold, the authorities continued their hunt for the suspect. They discovered that Leticia’s car was missing and that no one else had access to that vehicle except her driver Ben Fajardo Corpuz.

A few days later, Leticia’s Toyota van was found abandoned at a gasoline station in San Pablo, Laguna.

The authorities searched for Ben. But he was nowhere to be found.

On June 22, the death of Leticia and Vilma was reported on TV Patrol. A picture of their driver, Ben, was also shown. After it was aired, the authorities received a call from several women claiming to have ben raped by Ben. And after further investigation, they discovered that Ben’s real name is Bayani Pagaduan Corpuz and that he was involved in several cases such as illegal possession of firearms, robbery with homicide, double frustrated homicide, and murder. Moroever, Bayani had an accomplice—his son Sonny Boy ayas “Nognog”.

Several of their victims surfaced, telling tales of horror they experienced in the hands of Bayani and Nognog. The authorities continued to compile evidences against them. They also set Php300,000 bounty for Bayani’s head.

Finally, on June 29, the authorities received a tip on Bayani’s whereabouts. According to the tipster, Bayani was applying as a driver in Cauayan, Isabela.

“Ang problema, nung hiningan siya ng license, walang lisensya. Kaya naghinala siya,” P/Supt. Ferdinand de Castro says. “It so happened na napanood din niya sa TV kaya parang kahawig kaya naghinala sila.”

Bayani was immediately arrested and transported back to San Pablo City, Laguna where he was charged with double murder and carnapping. Initially, he was detained at the San Pablo City lock-up jail where ABS-CBN SOCO was able to interview him.

Suspect arrested.

“Talagang gusto ko na rin pong sumuko dahil nakokonsensya na rin apo ako,” he says. “Naramdaman ko rin po na iniikutan na ako ng pulis.”

He also told ABS-CBN SOCO what pushed him to kill Leticia and her niece, Vilma. “Noong mga panahon po na iyon, may sakit ang apo. Bumabale ako ng P1,500.00, ayaw po nila akong pabalihin,” he says. “Medyo aburido na po ang utak ko kasi maysakit ang apo ko kaya nagawa ko po yun. Pinalo ko ng mrtilo. Tatakbo po ang isa, pinalo ko na rin.”

He also confessed to taking Php6,000 and €150 worth of cash, the computer monitor, and a cellphone.

Currently, he is detained at the provincial jail in Nueva Ecija. His son Nognog, meanwhile, remains at large. August 19, 2011