The victims and the crime
Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc were film critics whose work connected Philippine cinema with an international film community. On September 1, 2009, they were shot and killed inside their home in Quezon City during a robbery.
Investigation
Investigators focused on the couple’s former housemaid, Criselda Dayag, and several alleged accomplices. Dayag left the home with the assailants after the killings and remained out of custody for years before she was arrested in 2016.
The 2018 conviction
On May 4, 2018, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 100 found Dayag guilty beyond reasonable doubt of robbery with homicide and sentenced her to reclusion perpetua without parole. The court found that she had actively helped the assailants enter the home and escape.
What remained unresolved
Reporting at the time of the conviction identified Danny Baclaan Lapitaje as an alleged participant who remained at large. Because the available record does not establish a completed judicial outcome for every alleged participant, this archive treats the case as partially adjudicated rather than wholly closed.
Why the case matters
The killings reverberated through the Philippine and international film communities. The long interval between the crime and Dayag’s conviction also illustrates how a major homicide prosecution can produce a clear verdict against one participant while questions about others remain.
Sources
GMA News — May 9, 2018
Philippine Daily Inquirer — May 9, 2018