Suspect in killing of Balikbayan Pinay and Japanese daughter arrested
QUEZON PROVINCE – A Filipino woman confessed to killing her sister and Japanese niece, who were first reported missing but later found dead in the south of Manila.
A police officer, speaking to Kyodo News, said they got a video of Ligaya Pajulas admitting to the crime. After the bodies were found, Pajulas tried to end her life and was later taken to a hospital in Quezon. Pajulas, the older sister of the victim Lorry Litada, allegedly said in the video that she planned the crime in December during an argument over money. She is now in police custody.
Litada, aged 54, and her daughter, Mai Motegi, 26, who works for a Japanese airline-related company, came to the Philippines last month and stayed at Pajulas’ home in Tayabas City, Quezon. According to the police, Litada and Motegi planned to handle property matters during their visit and were carrying P5 million in cash for this purpose.
The mother and daughter were reported missing on March 9 when relatives couldn’t reach them, and they didn’t catch their scheduled flights at the end of last month. To recall, it was on March 14, police found the victims’ bodies in a shallow grave near Pajulas’ home in Tayabas. Litada had a chest wound, while Motegi had a broken jaw, according to initial information from the police.
Furthermore, a suitcase with blood-stained items, belonging to one of the victims, was found elsewhere. Security camera footage showed Pajulas, her husband Charlie, and two other men moving the suitcase on a motorized tricycle.
Prior to the discovery of their bodies, GMA News reporter Bayani Bacuño took to social media calling on netizens to help look for the missing “balikbayan” mother and daughter: “Tulungan po natin sina Lorry Litada at Mai Motegi na mahanap ng kanilang pamilya. Umuwi sila ng Pilipinas mula sa Japan at huling nakita sa Tayabas City noong February 21, 2024. Dala ng mag ina ang malaking halaga na ibabayad raw sa bibilhing property. Paki share po. Maraming salamat!!” he noted.
