Getaway tricycle driver in Nueva Ecija car slay arrested; gunman still at large

Authorities arrested the alleged getaway tricycle driver linked to the killing of two people whose charred bodies were found inside a torched car in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija, police said Monday.

At a press briefing, Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office chief Police Colonel Ritchie Claravall said the suspect was arrested in front of a mall in Sta. Rosa town on March 12.

A motorcycle with a sidecar, allegedly used as a getaway vehicle in the incident, was seized from the arrested suspect.

However, the alleged gunman remains at large.

Before this, police arrested four suspects including the supposed mastermind, on March 11.

Claravall refused to disclose the suspects' identities as authorities are still hunting down the gunman.

On March 9, a red car was found razed in front of a farm in Barangay Sinasajan, Peñaranda. Two charred cadavers of a man and a woman were found inside the vehicle.

They were later identified as Michael Odchigue and Regine Espinosa.

According to the police, the motive behind the killing may be related to a financial dispute as the alleged mastermind owed money to Espinosa. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News