Police Col. Melecio Buslig, Acting District Director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), announced that one of the suspects in the January 5, 2025 kidnapping and homicide of a businessman has been positively identified as responsible for the death of a missing person from 2022.
On January 13, 2025, the mother of the missing person, who had been reported as disappeared on March 16, 2022, approached the QCPD after seeing news about the arrest of suspect Cape. She recalled that her son, Noel, and Cape had been friends and believed Cape might have information about her son’s disappearance. The mother shared that the last time she saw Noel was when he left their home in Caloocan City on a black Honda Beat motorcycle. Despite her family’s relentless search, Noel had been missing for nearly three years.
Upon receiving this information, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU), led by Police Major Dondon Llapitan, confronted Noli Banegas Cape, one of the suspects arrested in connection with the businessman’s murder. Cape confessed to his involvement and guided the CIDU team to Pangarap Village, Barangay 182, Caloocan City, where he had disposed of the missing man’s body. A thorough search was conducted, and the remains were discovered along Casoy Street in a grassy area. The property owner confirmed that a male body had been found in the same location in 2022.
The CIDU then coordinated with the Forensic Unit of Caloocan City and obtained the case file for the recovered body, initially documented as a “Dead Body of an Unknown Male” on March 18, 2022. A photograph of the remains was shown to the missing person’s mother, who positively identified the body as her son. The remains are now under the custody of Crystal Funeral Homes in Barangay 180, Camarin, Caloocan City.
“This success demonstrates our ongoing efforts to deliver justice and protection to our community. The Quezon City Police District remains committed to guiding and defending every citizen in Quezon City. I also wish to express my gratitude to our operatives for their unwavering dedication and efforts in recovering the victim’s remains,” said Buslig.