Suspect in slay of Fil-Aussie spa owner yields

MANILA, Philippines — The suspect in the killing of a Filipino-Australian spa owner in Ermita, Malate, surrendered to the authorities on Saturday night and told police he did not kill the foreigner but somebody he knew did.

With the help of officials of Barangay (village) 131, Zone 11, Barrio San Jose in Caloocan City, 32-year-old Aaron Balagtas submitted himself to the authorities at around 10 p.m. at the barangay hall of that village. He was transferred to the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters in Ermita, Manila, an hour after.

Balagtas was wanted for the killing of Harry John Mckenzie who was found dead with a towel stuffed in his mouth, his head bashed and his feet bound inside the Yin Yang Balanced Massage Spa, which he owned along Pedro Gil Street, Manila, early Friday morning. Initial investigation revealed that the victim was hit on hte head several times with a piece of wood, which was also found inside the spa. Employees of the business establishment also said that a cash box containing a still undetermined amount of money and Mckenzie’s cell phone were missing.

The police immediately suspected that the painters hired by Mckenzie to repaint the walls of his spa were involved in the killing as they did not show up at the massage parlor on Friday morning for their daily work schedule which started from 5 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The suspect in custody is one of the three men the victim hired for the paint job.

According to Balagtas’ mother, Ruth, her son decided to surrender to the police because he was bothered by his conscience and that he wanted to clear his name.

“He came to my house in Caloocan last Friday and told me that he was being linked to a murder,” Ruth told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The suspect’s mother shared that Balagtas admitted that he and another man planned to rob the spa but never intended to kill Mckenzie. “He told me that his accomplice was the one who killed their boss and that he thought they were just going to take his cash and other valuables,” she added.

Ruth also said that Balagtas was only able to take the victim’s cellular phone, which he immediately sold to a friend while the cash loot was taken by his cohort.

“I want my son to pay for what he has done but the police should be fair, they should also hunt for the real killer,” Balagtas’ mother repeatedly told the Inquirer.

But the homicide investigator, Senior Police Officer 1 Rommel del Rosario, negated Balagtas’ claim, saying that the police were keeping him as the prime suspect in the killing. He noted that Balagtas was not in his residence in Zapote, Las Piñas, when the police went to the area to check on him hours after Mckenzie’s body was discovered. He added that they also found reliable information that he was hiding in Caloocan where his mother and the rest of his family resided.

“He had no choice but to surrender on Saturday night because he knew that we were on the area looking for him,” the investigator told the Inquirer.

Balagtas’ whereabouts were traced by the police after Cristina Espedillon, a masseuse working at the spa and the suspect’s neighbor in Zapote, said that she was the one who referred Balagtas to do the paint work to her boss. Another neighbor, Jomar Dimaano, who was also taken for questioning at the MPD homicide division on Sunday told the Inquirer that he was hired by Balagtas to help him paint the massage parlor last Tuesday and Wednesday. He added that he, Balagtas and another man whom he did not know worked on the paint job for two days.

“But Aaron did not contact me last Thursday and Friday so I thought that he did not need me anymore to help him with the job,” Dimaano added.

Del Rosario confirmed that as of Sunday, they were still looking for another alias “Eugene,” the person Balagtas has pinpointed but noted he would just be taken in for questioning and that he was not considered a suspect, as of Sunday.

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