Philippines

a murder in Philippines

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A beautiful 21-year-old female college student was presented as a gift to the mayor by the police. After enduring hellish torture, she died a violent death. This true case in the Philippines sparked widespread outrage and protests. Today, let's delve into this heinous crime.

On June 28, 1993, Mary Elin Samantha and her friend Alan Gomez, after finishing their classes for the day, drove to a shopping plaza near their school and found a café to chat. They were both students at the University of the Philippines Los Paños, about an hour's drive from Manila. Elin was 21, majoring in agriculture, and was graduating in a few months. Alan was two years younger than her, and the two became very close friends due to their similar studies and shared interests. They often played board games and cards together, and in addition to their studies, they shared campus gossip and anecdotes.

Seeing that it was getting late, the two got up to drive back to school. Allen, driving a white Toyota van, walked to the driver's side while Eileen opened the other door to get in. Suddenly, an ambulance pulled up beside them, carrying seven men. Two of them, armed, approached Allen, while the other two rushed at Eileen and dragged them into the back of the van. Within a minute, the two helpless college students were subdued. They then drove Allen's van away from the shopping mall, following the ambulance. There were no security cameras in the mall; the only evidence of what had happened was probably the wallet that had fallen from Allen's pocket during their struggle.

Eileen and Allen, their mouths gagged and hands bound behind their backs, were filled with terror. They were just ordinary, naive college students, unable to comprehend why this was happening.

In fact, these men had been preparing for their operation since morning, their goal being to deliver a coveted "special gift" to the mayor. Before heading to the shopping plaza, they had already searched the campus. Finding no trace of Eileen, they went to a nearby shopping plaza popular with university students. Sure enough, they found her there. These two vibrant young students could never have imagined that they would soon experience the darkest moment of their lives.

Half an hour later, the car finally stopped. A man opened the back door and dragged Eileen out. Her eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light; before her stood a massive iron gate, clearly indicating a private farm. A man stepped out through the front door. His gait and impeccably tailored white tennis shirt suggested he was different from the seven men—a person in power. This man was the farm's owner—Mayor Sanchez. This farm was both Sanchez's refuge from power struggles and the place where the lives of two innocent university students would end.

Antonio Sánchez was born on May 10, 1945. He served as Deputy Mayor of Calavan from January 1, 1972, to June 30, 1980, and became Mayor on March 26, 1986. His term as mayor was shortened due to a reshuffle of the government under then-President Corazon Aquino. However, he returned to power on February 2, 1988.

Sánchez was known for his eccentric personality. He was obsessed with plastic surgery and spent a lot of time styling his hair daily, but his signature mop-like hairstyle was often the subject of ridicule. However, this did not affect his absolute control over power. He reportedly had his own private army and was involved in running an illegal gambling syndicate, accumulating a large amount of ill-gotten wealth during this time. Besides abusing his power, his lifestyle was also highly criticized. In interviews on national television, he openly admitted to having many girlfriends and lovers, showing no regard for his wife. Ironically, he also frequently expressed his love for the Virgin Mary in television reports and often appeared at charity events.

In the summer of 1993, Eileen interviewed him for a column in the university newspaper. It was during this interview that Sanchez became enamored with the young and beautiful girl.

Back on the night of the incident, Sanchez was satisfied with Eileen as she was brought before him. He turned to Allen and asked, "Who's that boy?" One of the men replied, "Sorry, boss, they're together. We have to take him with us to avoid any complications." Sanchez nodded, then grabbed Eileen's arm, dragged her into the ranch's mansion, and slammed the door shut.

There, Sanchez's brutality continued for several hours.

Allen was taken to another lounge. The men lay on the sofa watching television. To pass the time, four of them began taking turns beating Allen. In their eyes, the boy was merely a witness to the crime; he couldn't possibly be alive, so why waste the opportunity to assault him? Allen curled up on the floor like a baby, covering his head with his hands in an attempt to protect himself. The four men continued to beat him, one of them repeatedly striking him in the chest with the butt of a gun. The poor 19-year-old boy was covered in blood and bruises, motionless, before the men stopped and continued watching television.

Around 1 a.m. on the 29th, Sanchez finally ended his brutality. Erin, her face streaked with tears, had her hands tightly bound together. Her hair was disheveled, her white shorts were gone, and she was only wearing underwear, sobbing uncontrollably. Sanchez, on the other hand, was naked except for his white tennis shirt. He thanked the men for their "special gift" and told them, "I'm done. Now you can do whatever you want to her."

When asked what would happen to Allen, the men assured the mayor they would kill him to prevent future trouble.

Then, they crammed the two college students into Allen's Toyota van, and drove off the farm one after the other, alongside the ambulance. From the ambulance driver's seat, the van could be seen swaying from side to side—perhaps Allen had woken up and was struggling with Erin inside, the commotion caused by the others trying to control them. Then a gunshot rang out, and the van stopped. A man dragged the blood-covered Allen from the car, dumped him on the roadside, and shot him in the head, ensuring his death. Then, the convoy continued on its way.

Eileen, who witnessed everything, was completely stunned. Isolated and helpless, she couldn't imagine what other atrocities she would face.

The car stopped in a sugarcane field. The men, like their bosses, began taking turns assaulting her. Eileen was pinned down in the car, her hands and feet restrained by others. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed and begged for mercy. Only the driver, clinging to a sliver of conscience, refused to join this horrific ordeal.

After it was all over, someone pulled out a gun. Sensing the danger, Eileen struggled to her feet and knelt inside the car, pleading that her body and dignity had been taken from her, begging for her life. But the men were unmoved. They stuffed a dirty handkerchief into her mouth to silence her, then pulled the trigger against the beautiful mole on Eileen's face.

And so, the young female college student was abandoned on the truck like trash. The men didn't even bother to clean up the mess; they returned to the ambulance and drove off, reliving their crime and mocking Erin's final pleas for mercy.

At 6:30 a.m. on June 29th, Deputy Chief George called four officers—Olay, Louis, Vinson, and Zorro—for a special operation—to search for a drug dealer. They had no leads on the dealer's whereabouts and were simply driving aimlessly, hoping to stumble upon him like winning the lottery.

When the patrol car reached a secluded road, they saw what appeared to be a person lying on the roadside grass. They got out to check and found Erin dead—she had been shot twice, once in the head and once in the back. Almost simultaneously, another officer named Boy reported finding Erin dead in the truck. The four then rushed to the sugarcane field and drove the truck back to the police station. The police immediately notified her family and classmates to come to the station to identify the body. The night before, Erin's roommate had reported to the dormitory administrator that she hadn't returned to the dorm. Erin was a well-behaved and gentle girl; she would never stay out all night without a reason. The police notification finally confirmed her roommate's ominous premonition.

Erin's body was gruesome to look at: her Giordano T-shirt was rolled up to her shoulders, her pants were missing, she was still wearing her favorite white sneakers, a dirty handkerchief was stuffed in her mouth, and there were cigarette burn marks on her body. Ellen was shot to death from about a foot or two away, while Erin was shot at face-to-face. The forensic doctor explained that although Erin had been dead for several hours, a large amount of fluid was still seeping out. Combined with the extent of the lacerations and wounds, it was confirmed that she had suffered a brutal attack before her death.

This horrific case, after being reported in the news, immediately attracted the attention of the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation, which promptly dispatched officials to Calavan City to urge an investigation.

Police Chief Cano, based on the different degrees of abuse suffered by Eileen and Allen before their deaths, believed that the main target of the attack was Eileen, and that Allen, who happened to be with her, was a collateral victim. However, Deputy Chief George had a different opinion—he believed Allen was the murderer.

George's reasoning was as follows: Allen liked Eileen, but she, who already had a boyfriend, rejected his advances, causing Allen to harbor resentment. George claimed he had investigated the case—shortly before the incident, Allen's ex-girlfriend, after being dumped by her boyfriend, got into a fight with him on campus, but because she was outmatched, she blamed all her misfortunes on Eileen for not accepting him. He further analyzed: On the 28th, Allen feigned friendliness, inviting Eileen to a coffee shop after class. After everyone left, he offered to take her back to her dormitory, then drove to a deserted sugarcane field where he raped her and finally shot her. Afterwards, fearing arrest, he became increasingly terrified and committed suicide.

George's reasoning was riddled with flaws. First, where did the different liquids on Eileen's body come from? Second, the blunt force trauma covering Allen's body couldn't be explained, and how could he have shot himself a second time after being shot in the head? Also, no gun was found at the location where Allen's body was found; how could he have hidden it after death?

On the 29th, near the location of Allen's body, residents found an empty shell casing and handed it over to the police. On the 30th, Officer Olay, who discovered Allen's body with George, reported a new development: after transporting Eileen's body from the police station to City Hall on the 29th, he saw a prisoner in jail clothes cleaning the Toyota van. The prisoner claimed he was instructed by higher-ups to do so, but he didn't specify who it was. Olay also gave Chief Cano a pair of white shorts, saying that the mayor's driver had found them on the side of the highway far from the sugarcane fields, and that they should belong to Eileen. However, Olay then suddenly disappeared.

In 1993, the Philippines had not yet used DNA technology in homicide investigations, so the police had no idea whose fluids on Eileen's body belonged. However, ballistic analysis of the empty bullet casings found at the scene of Allen's body revealed that they belonged to a police-issue rifle registered to Officer Louis. The metal fragments remaining on Erin's face matched the scratches on the empty bullet casings—indicating that the same gun was used to kill Erin. Louis was the officer on the scene of the drug bust with the deputy chief, and he was the one who discovered Allen's body during the operation. Now, his gun had become the murder weapon. After the 29th, Louis's service weapon was turned in to the police station and never retrieved, making him a prime suspect.

Several days later, Louis and his brother Boy, accompanied by Mayor Sanchez, surrendered themselves to the police station. Boy was the officer who discovered Erin's body. The two brothers confessed to killing the two college students, but claimed it was all under orders from someone else. So who was that person? Remember Kit, Allen's boyfriend with whom Deputy Chief George had a conflict over his ex-girlfriend? That's right, he was the one who planned the crime.

Kit's father was a notorious general. He had a conflict with Allen and certainly had a motive to murder him. However, after finding Kit, the police learned that he and Allen had reconciled shortly after their fight, and classmates who knew both of them stated that they hadn't clashed again since.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Police Chief Cano didn't believe the brothers' testimonies at all—even if Kit and Allen had a conflict, it wouldn't be enough to justify using their father's influence to have two police officers assault and kill two college students. Chief Cano persisted with his reasoning and ordered the two officers to be tortured. Unexpectedly, they quickly implicated Mayor Sanchez.

So far, Sanchez has indeed shown many strange connections in the case: his private farm was not far from where the body was found, his driver found Allen's shorts on the side of the highway far from the body, and he even accompanied the two police officers to surrender—it all seemed too coincidental. Soon, NBI agents also discovered that he had previously interacted with Allen due to a school newspaper interview.

When questioned by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Sanchez initially claimed he couldn't remember where he was on June 28th. He later stated that after dropping off his children, he went to his lover's house, had dinner there, and then went to San Pablo City, returning at 10 PM. He also stayed there for breakfast and lunch the following day. When asked if there were any suspicious items, he unhesitatingly named Kit. This hasty attempt to shift blame seemed highly suspicious, as he and two other police officers suspected the same person.

On August 10th, the missing Olay was apprehended by NBI agents at a large flea market in Manila. Subsequently, Deputy Director George, Officers Vinson and Zorro were also summoned. Fearing torture, Olay was the first to confess, followed by Vinson. On August 13th, Sanchez was also arrested.

The testimonies of O'Reilly and Vinson are as follows: On June 28th, Deputy Chief George and O'Reilly, in order to help Mayor Sanchez find the "gift" he had ordered, picked up Officers Vinson, Zorro, and Louis in an ambulance. O'Reilly was the driver, and they drove out of Caravan, stopping several times along the way. Around 7 p.m., Louis told them to return, and the group picked up Boy, Papett, and the mayor's nephew Baldwin at a gas station in Caravan. Only then did Louis reveal the true purpose of their operation, boasting that the "gift" for the mayor—Eileen—was so beautiful it would make them drool.

Then the violence described earlier occurred. O'Reilly and Vinson did not participate in beating Allen, nor did they participate in assaulting Eileen. However, this is based solely on their testimonies, with no other supporting evidence.

Ole confessed that after the crime, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) assigned investigators to the case. Sanchez, upon learning this, was furious, berating the men for their thoughtless actions. However, he later told them he could settle the matter for "less than the price of a new car" and not to worry. On June 30th, after hearing from a colleague that someone had seen a suspicious ambulance near the dumped body, Sanchez, fearing he would be recognized as the driver, gave him 2,000 pesos and told him to find a safe place.

Clearly, the so-called "drug dealer raid" was nothing more than a "fake search" to pretend the victim's body had been found.

Subsequently, police unearthed the belt Erin wore before her murder and the cigarette butt used to burn her at Sanchez's farm.

The trial began. Ole and Vison were not charged, and the others pleaded not guilty. Sanchez always appeared in court with a statue of the Virgin Mary, wearing that glaring white tennis shirt, looking up...

A man with a surgically enhanced face arrogantly claimed he could never have raped Eileen, arguing that with his power and charisma, all women would flock to him. The others claimed they confessed under torture. The brothers, Louis and Boy, stated they were instructed by Chief Cano to identify Mayor Sanchez as the mastermind, and that the real culprit was Kit. Deputy Chief George also testified that Chief Cano was the one who instructed the prisoners to clean the truck to destroy evidence, and that Cano also instructed him to frame Vison.

On March 11, 1995, after a 16-month trial, the court did not accept the defendants' arguments. Sanchez and five others were convicted of murder, rape, and kidnapping, each receiving seven life sentences, to be served consecutively—each sentence requiring 40 years before parole, meaning these seven men would have to serve 280 years in prison. Meanwhile, the judge stated that the crimes committed by these individuals were unprecedented, and they were required to pay a total of 12 million pesos in compensation to the families of Erin and Allen.

Upon hearing the verdict, the mayor's calm and devout demeanor vanished. He became enraged, hurling insults and displaying a completely different side of himself.

That same year, Sanchez was also indicted in a political assassination case—Louis, Vinson, and two others carried out Sanchez's shooting plan. Vinson testified as a prosecution witness, identifying them. In December 1996, the four were convicted of murder, and Sanchez and Louis were sentenced to two additional life sentences, meaning they would serve at least 360 years before being released.

Years later, Sanchez maintained his innocence, claiming that it was all a political frame-up during his gubernatorial campaign.

Now, in 2019, 26 years have passed since Erin and Allen's murder, but their families will never forget that horrific memory. However, shocking news emerged that stunned the victims' families and the entire Filipino public: according to a 2013 law, inmates with good behavior during their sentences could receive reduced sentences, meaning Sanchez and 11,000 other inmates would be released early.

Soon, a petition with over 53,000 signatures was posted online, pleading for Sanchez to serve his full sentence. On August 22, students and alumni of Erin and Allen's alma mater held a rally to protest Sanchez's early release, and the victims' families condemned the authorities for "special treatment" of the perpetrator.

In fact, Sanchez was not only not a "good-behaved inmate" in prison, but he frequently violated regulations. During a prison raid in 2006, guards found contraband and paraphernalia in his cell, leading to charges against him. However, the case was dismissed in 2011 due to a lack of substantial evidence. In July 2010, he was again found to be possessing contraband worth 1.5 million pesos, hidden inside a statue of the Virgin Mary in his cell. A subsequent disciplinary report showed his urine test was positive. In November 2015, another raid uncovered a window air conditioner and a tablet computer in Sanchez's cell. Sanchez, who was living a carefree life, claimed these were necessary for health reasons.

On August 26, 2019, amidst widespread public outrage, the then-Philippine president was forced to personally intervene, ordering the Secretary of Justice to suspend the program and ultimately refusing to release Sanchez early a week later. The Commissioner of Corrections was also forced to resign.

On March 27, 2021, Sanchez was found dead in his cell by prison guards at the age of 74.

An autopsy revealed no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.