Manhunt after Aussies found dead in hotel
Written by admin on July 12, 2024
An Australian couple allegedly murdered at a luxury hotel in the Philippines have been identified, as eerie CCTV emerges and police launch a manhunt for their killer.
Australian David James Fisk, 57, his wife Lucita Barquin Cortez, 55, a Philippine-born Australian citizen were staying at The Lake Hotel, at Tagaytay in Cavite province, southwest of the Philippines capital of Manila.
A third person, reported to be Ms Cortez’s daughter-in-law Mary Jane Cortez, 30, found with the couple is understood to be Filipino.
A hotel worker found the bodies of the victims on Wednesday, with a police statement reporting all three were found with their hands and feet bound and packaging tape covering their mouths.
Tagaytay police chief Charles Daven Capagcuan told The Associated Press Mr Fisk’s throat had been slit, while the women may have been suffocated with a pillow.
Police are interviewing witnesses and examining security footage from the hotel, and are looking to speak to a man seen on CCTV wearing a mask and hoodie who walked out of the victims’ room a few hours before they were found.
A statement from the Tagaytay Cavite Police Provincial Office said the station’s tracker team had been activated, with searches being conducted at “all possible exit points within Tagaytay and nearby provinces to apprehend and identify the suspect”.
The local mayor has apologised to Australia and has promised the incident will be resolved “as soon as possible”.
“We were shocked by this incident,” he told local media.
“We’re very sorry to our Australian friends.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) confirmed they were providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians killed.
“We send our condolences to the families at this difficult time,” a DFAT spokeswoman said.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
It is understood the Australian couple were due to fly back to Australia on the day they were killed, but decided to extend their trip at the last minute.
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Mr Fisk’s body will be repatriated to Sydney, while both women will be buried in the Philippines, with the government to pay for their funeral and burial.
The luxurious hotel the couple were found at boasts a panoramic views of the world-famous Taal Lake and volcano.
Founded in 2008, Lake Hotel Tagaytay is a 90 minute drive from Manila.
