Man who brought Atio Castillo to hospital now ‘principal suspect’ —MPD

The Manila Police District (MPD) is now considering the man who brought hazing victim Horacio Tomas "Atio" Castillo III to the hospital a "principal suspect" in his death.

MPD director Chief Superintendent Joel Coronel said that John Paul Sarte Solano, initially deemed a person of interest, was now one of the main suspects in the student's death after discovering that he gave "false statements" to the police.

"Itong si John Paul Solano, who appeared before the MPD investigation section, claiming at that time [that he] only found the motionless body of the victim whom he claims he does not know, 'yun ang kanyang allegations. Hindi niya kilala 'yung katawan na natagpuan niya sa Balut, Tondo at dinala niya sa Chinese General Hospital, with the help of other, unidentified supposedly good Samaritans," Coronel said.

Coronel said that their investigations showed that Solano is a freshman law student at the University of Santo Tomas and a member of the Aegis Juris Fraternity.

He said that they have established that Solano even recruited Castillo to join the fraternity.

"This is his picture provided to us wearing the fraternity t-shirt of the Aegis Juris Fraternity," Coronel said.

"As you can see, we have strong evidence that Mr. John Paul Solano deliberately, intentionally and maliciously gave false statements to the Manila Police District relative to the investigation of the Horacio Castillo killing," he added.

At the press conference, the MPD also showed CCTV footage of Solano in the company of the victim walking with other suspected Aegis Juris members.

"As you can see from the video, this is at the back of the University of Santo Tomas, the Dapitan gate, gate 11 at around 11:45 a.m. September 16, lalabas si John Paul Solano together with the victim. Ayan, yung naglalakad na 'yan na naka-long sleeves with a sling bag is John Paul Solano and beside him are supposedly fraternity brothers together with Atio Castillo," Coronel said.

Prior to obtaining the CCTV footage, Coronel said that they have witnesses who saw Castillo with Solano and other possible suspects while on their way out of UST compound and proceeding to a certain destination.

The MPD earlier found inconsistencies between Solano's testimony and the accounts of officials of Barangay 133 in Manila, where Solano claimed he found the UST law freshman's body.

In the police's spot report, Solano claimed that he found Castillo at the corner of H. Lopez and Infanta Streets in Barangay 133 around 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Solano said he was on his way to San Lazaro Hospital, where he works, when he saw Castillo's body.

He claimed that he flagged down a red Strada pick-up to help him bring Castillo to the Chinese General Hospital.

Coronel, however, said that barangay officials had told them no body was found in their barangay and nearby areas.

Meanwhile, Coronel said that follow-up operations were ongoing to arrest Solano.

"At present, he's already considered as a principal suspect in the killing of Atio Castillo and manhunt operations are undergoing to effect the immediate arrest and capture of John Paul Solano," he said.

He added that they already have a "handful of possible suspects" in the death of the 22-year-old law student.

Castillo is believed to have succumbed to a massive heart attack after attending the "welcoming rites" of the Aegis Juris fraternity on Saturday night.

Authorities have confirmed that he died as a result of extensive injuries due to hazing.

The victim's family learned about the incident when his mother Carminia Castillo received an anonymous text message saying that her son was brought to the Chinese General Hospital.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II had already ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the incident and file charges against those responsible for his death. — MDM/KVD/BM, GMA News