Update in hunt for Aussie couple’s killer
Written by admin on July 17, 2024
The man suspected of killing an Australian couple in the Philippines has handed himself in to police.
The bodies of David James Fisk, 57, and his wife Lucita Barquin Cortez, 55, were found inside their Lake Hotel room in Tagaytay, south of Manila, on Wednesday last week.
A third person, reported to be Ms Cortez’s daughter-in-law Mary Jane Cortez, 30, was also found dead with the couple.
A hotel worker found the victim’s bodies with their hands and feet bound and packaging tape covering their mouths on Wednesday last week, according to a police statement.
Tagaytay Police Chief Charles Daven M Capagcuan told The Sydney Morning Herald early Wednesday morning a person had handed themselves into police.
Police will provide further information in a press conference later on Wednesday.
Hotel staff reportedly made the horror discovery.
The worker found the victim’s bodies with their hands and feet bound and packaging tape covering their mouths on Wednesday, according to a police statement.
Widely-circulated CCTV footage shows the person who is presumed to be their killer leaving their hotel room at about 6am.
The same person is seen again on the footage leaving the room for the first time at 1am.
Local police were looking for the man captured on this vision who was seen wearing a black hoodie and hiding his face.
The motive of the attack is still unclear.
Some items, including the couple’s mobile phones, were not stolen during the attack.
Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham Tolentino said the deaths have been a “wake-up call” after decades without similar incidents.
“Tagaytay City is a tourist-driven local economy,” he said.
“We are a safe place, we are a peaceful place, and for the last 30 years there’s no crime like this in the area.”
Mr Fisk’s family released a statement on Friday, sharing their grief and pleading for answers.
“The love we have for our Father and Lucita is so dear and this situation is like living a nightmare,” the statement read.
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“We pray for answers and the truth in this horrific matter and just pray for their safe return to Australian shores.”
“David’s daughters, local known and loved residents in the Sutherland Shire, ask on behalf of their family that the media respect our privacy in this incredibly difficult and tragic time and we will be making no further comment.”
The family has also started a fundraiser to ease financial burden as they look to bring Mr Fisk home.
