4 nabbed over bodies in burning vehicle

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March 13, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Four people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a man and a woman whose charred bodies were found in a burning car in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija on Monday.

The suspects were collared in a follow-up operation in Mallig, Isabela on Wednesday afternoon, according to Nueva Ecija police director Col. Ritchie Claravall.

Police identified the fatalities as businesswoman Regine Espinosa and Michael Odchigue, a member of the Palayan City disaster risk reduction and management office.

The victims were found dead in the front seat of a Toyota Wigo hatchback that was torched by the suspects in Barangay Sinasajan.

Claravall withheld the identifies of the suspects pending results of the investigation.

He said one of the suspects is a woman, who is allegedly the mastermind of the murder.

The rest of the suspects are the woman’s husband, her personal driver and the couple’s security escort.

Video footage from a closed-circuit television camera showed the victims were killed inside the vehicle.

The female suspect and a man were seen coming out of the car shortly after the incident.

The video footage showed another suspect, a tricycle driver, arriving at the scene and another man pouring gasoline onto the Wigo before setting the car on fire.

Capt. Vincent Taylor, chief of the Peñaranda police, said the male suspects are helping the mastermind elude arrest.

Citing initial investigation, Taylor said the mastermind reportedly owed Espinosa P2.5 million.

On the day of the murder, the suspects and the victims were supposed to meet a buyer of Espinosa’s apartment unit.

Taylor said Espinosa managed to take a selfie with her companion and the suspects while they were in the car.

A manhunt has been launched for the suspects. — Ramon Efren Lazaro