Bickering heard near spot where Rizal college couple were killed

Construction workers claimed to have heard a girl and a man arguing near the spot in the Amityville Subdivision in Rodriguez, Rizal where a young couple was found stabbed to death and robbed, GMA 7 news program "24 Oras Weekend" reported on Saturday.

Foreman Henry Molina said that at around 1 a.m. on Thursday, he and his men heard a girl bickering with a male who seemed to have detained her against her will.

"Narinig ko po 'yung boses ng isang babae na wala naman daw sa kanilang usapan 'yung ganoong bagay. Eh ngayon, siguro, itong babae nagpu-pumilit na makapiglas para makawala, hinarangan ngayon nung kasama," Molina recounted.

"Ang sabi noong lalaki, ano, harangan, habulin kasi abaka daw makalusot pa," the foreman added.

Molina explained they were too afraid to approach the commotion because the girl's captor might have a gun.

Amityville Subdivision security guards found the bodies of college students Charmaine Villarias and John Vincent Umiten on Thursday. Their hands and feed had been bound, and they had been stabbed to death. Their money and cellphones were also missing.

"Umakyat po kami doon, kasi naro-roving po namin 'yung lugar na iyon, para ma-secure po namin 'yung lugar na hindi po tirahan ng squatter," said Amityville's head of  security Mario Bautista.

Police investigators are looking at robbery as the motive for the killing, given that there had been a series of such crimes in the area.

"Presumption namin doon sa mga tao na nag-salita doon sa scene na iyon, may ibang tao na dumating sa lugar with a purpose siguro. Iyon 'yung... angle na robbery-hold-up talaga," explained Rodriguez police chief Superintendent Hector Grijaldo.

Grijaldo added that it was also possible that Villarias had been raped because her underwear had been removed.

Investigators were looking at a person of interest who could provide information on the killing. — Margaret Claire Layug/DVM, GMA News