Three suspects in the disappearance and killing of a policewoman and her eight-year-old son were arrested following coordinated operations conducted in Quezon City on Friday night, January 30, 2026.
According to police reports, the arrests were carried out at around 8:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. in Barangay San Agustin, Novaliches, and Barangay San Bartolome, Quezon City.
During the arrest of the suspects, police conducted an on-site inventory of recovered evidence, which included identification cards of the suspects, ₱100,000 in cash, and several mobile phones belonging to the arrested individuals. Authorities also confirmed that the mobile phones of both victims have already been recovered.
Police Senior Master Sergeant (PSMS) Diane Marie Mollenido and her son, John Ysmael Gabres Mollenido, were reported missing on January 19, 2026, by her husband, PMSg John Ledesma Mollenido, who has also been named a person of interest at the Taguig City Police Station.
Investigators revealed that the victims left their Taguig City residence on January 16, aboard a Toyota Innova, allegedly to sell the vehicle.
Authorities established that the victims were last seen alive at the residence of the suspects in Novaliches, Quezon City. The vehicle was later sold to a buy-and-sell agent for ₱450,000.
On January 24, however, the body of PSMS Mollenido was discovered along the Pulilan Bypass Road in Barangay Dulong Malabon, Pulilan, Bulacan. Her remains were found wrapped in a black garbage bag, bearing a gunshot wound to the head.
Five days later, the decomposing body of her son was discovered in a calamansi farm in Victoria, Tarlac.
Following the discovery of the victims’ bodies, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) activated a Special Investigation Task Group composed of personnel from the Taguig City Police, Quezon City Police District (QCPD), and Police Regional Office 3.
Meanwhile, CIDU and PS-4 personnel, together with the suspects, are continuing search operations in Pulilan, Bulacan, and Angeles City, Pampanga, in an effort to recover the firearm allegedly used in killing Mollenido.
Investigators also disclosed that the silver Toyota Fortuner reportedly used by the suspects in disposing of and concealing the victims’ bodies is currently undergoing field laboratory examination by the PNP Forensic Group.
Police have identified a female car agent—who was among the last people to see the victims—as a person of interest, while authorities said the agent’s husband is a dismissed police officer.
Earlier, the Southern Police District (SPD) said investigators are considering financial gain as one of the possible motives behind the crime, citing the cash transaction involved in the sale of the victim’s vehicle prior to the killings.
Authorities said all three suspects are currently under police custody.
