Police considering money, grudges as possible motive in death of Japanese woman and her mother
The Philippine National Police (PNP) is considering money and personal grudges as the possible motives for the killing of a Japanese woman and her mother, its spokesperson said Monday.
Last Thursday, Lorry Litada and her daughter Mai Motegi, a Japanese national, were found dead in Tayabas City, Quezon Province, police said.
In a press briefing, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said two of four persons of interest in the case were relatives of the two victims, who are residents of Japan.
Asked about the motive for killing the mother and daughter, she said: “One is personal grudges and the other is money matters. Those are some of the many things that the investigators are looking at right now.”
“For a relative to even plan or consummate a killing, we are looking at the possibility of a personal grudge being involved to at least instigate this incident,” she added.
Fajardo said the mother and daughter were reported to be bringing money when they arrived from Japan.
According to Fajardo, the role of the four persons of interest in the crime has not yet been revealed but a search warrant will be issued soon.
“They already have sufficient information and they are waiting for a search warrant to be issued because they have cordoned the house where the bodies of the victims have been recovered. So the house where the dead bodies were recovered is now treated as a crime scene,” Fajardo said.
“It is just a matter of completing the evidence including the possibility of recovering evidence for that matter in the house that we sealed off pending the issuance of the search warrant. This includes the luggage which would greatly help in identifying the victims and again to tie the persons of interest to the crime scene,” she added.
Fajardo declined to provide more information as it would “compromise the ongoing investigation” and because they have not yet received clearance from the Calabarzon regional police. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
