The prime suspect in the killing of a Grab female driver was arrested Wednesday night while meeting with his girlfriend in Pasig City.
Police identified the suspect as Paolo Largado who admitted that he knew the victim, Maria Cristina Palanca.
Largado claimed that he was once a passenger of Palanca and became involved in the illegal drug trade.
He said he accidentally killed Palanca after he thought she would shoot him.
The victim’s decomposing body was found Sunday under the sink of Largado’s condominium unit in Barangay San Andres, Cainta.
Palanca had gone missing three days earlier after transporting a passenger from Mandaluyong City to Pasig City.
Police were able to retrieve footages from a closed circuit television (CCTV) of a condominium which showed the suspect leaving the condominium on Thursday, the day Palanca was killed.
To escape detection, Palanca shaved his head, according to the police who nevertheless followed him to Lucena, Quezon.
Largado pawned Palanca’s vehicle to an acquaintance before proceeding to Pasig City to meet his girlfriend.
During his arrest, Largado tried to make a run for it, but was collared by policemen. A sachet of suspected shabu was found inside his wallet.
The report that reached the Eastern Police District Command (EPDC) offered little details of the arrest.
It could not be determined if Largado went to Pasig aboard another vehicle or commuted from Quezon.
Police recovered the victim’s vehicle, a black Toyota Avanza, in Lucena, Quezon. (Madellyne Dominguez)
