House helpers arrested for killings, rape

MANILA, Philippines — Two house helpers were arrested in separate incidents for allegedly killing an elderly couple and raping the employer’s child.

Marilyn Pandita, 48, was arrested on Tuesday night after she escaped from the barangay hall of E. Rodriguez, where she was detained by village watchmen for allegedly killing her employers and trying to cover up the crime by torching their house in Quezon City.

Personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) responded to a fire at a one-story house along Stanford street that started at around 8:52 p.m.

The fire reached first alarm and was doused by firefighters at around 9:40 p.m., the BFP said.

Arson probers retrieved the corpses of the victims – an 80-year-old man and his 76-year-old wife – in their bedroom.

The investigators became suspicious when they saw the victims bore head injuries.

Authorities then took into custody Pandita after she was spotted attempting to leave the house with her luggage.

She was brought to the barangay hall for investigation.

The suspect went to the toilet on the second floor of the barangay hall, supposedly to relieve herself, but jumped from the restroom window and tried to run away.

Police officers chased her until she was cornered at the intersection of 15th and P. Tuazon Avenues in Barangay Socorro.

Pandita denied she killed the couple.

An ice pick and a plane ticket were recovered in her possession.

Police investigators took swabs for testing  from a pipe wrench and a dumbbell recovered at the scene.

In Taguig, a helper identified only as Jonjon, 28, a resident of Barangay Sta. Ana, was arrested for allegedly raping his employer’s teenage daughter twice, the Southern Police District (SPD) reported yesterday.

The suspect, Taguig’s third most wanted fugitive, is facing charges of statutory rape, the SPD said.

The suspect is being held at the Taguig police headquarters’ detention facility.