A Quezon City court acquitted Althea Altamirano of charges linking her to the 2012 murder of her friend and fellow model, Julie Ann Rodelas.
Her boyfriend, Fernando Quiambao Jr., however, was found guilty of carrying out the abduction, which led to the fatal shooting of Julie Ann.
Fernando was sentenced to reclusion perpetua or life sentence and was ordered to pay the victim's family up to PHP500,000 in damages.
The verdict was handed down on Friday, December 13, 2024, by Judge Caridad Lutero of Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 223.
The decision stated that the court found insufficient evidence to prove Althea's involvement in conspiring to murder Julie Ann.
Likewise, the court ordered Althea's release from the Quezon City Female Dormitory unless other cases were filed against her that required her to remain in the facility.
Despite her acquittal, Althea was directed to pay P100,000 in moral damages.
ALTHEA AND JULIE ANN WERE CLOSE FRIENDS
Julie Ann, a freelance model and part-time ABS-CBN talent, was abducted on November 6, 2012, at past midnight, in front of the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Julie Ann's lifeless body would be found several hours later in Barangay San Roque, Murphy, Quezon City.
Police investigation linked Fernando Quiambao Jr., Jaymar Waradji — who later became a state witness — and Althea Altamirano to the crime.
The case took a more sinister turn after the revelation that Althea and Julie Ann were close friends.
In fact, Althea was with Julie Ann walking near the World Trade Center when the latter was forcibly taken by a group of men.
Althea reported the incident to the police but was later identified as a suspect.
REVENGE PLAN GONE WRONG
So what led to the souring of the relationship between the two young models?
Althea had accused Julie Ann of spreading rumors that she, Althea, already had children and that this was hurting her modeling career.
She confided this to her boyfriend, Fernando, who hatched a plan to "teach her [Julie Ann] a lesson."
Police believe that the plan to kill Julie Ann was a last-minute decision after she recognized Fernando, who, at the time of the abduction, was wearing a mask to conceal his identity.
Jaymar, the suspect turned witness, who was also wearing a mask, reportedly mentioned Fernando's nickname, Jay-Ar, inside the car, which gave Julie Ann a hint about the identity of one of her abductors.
“Arjay, Jay-Ar. Sorry," Julie Ann pleaded to Fernando, according to Jaymar's testimony.
Julie Ann was taken to a safe house in Barangay Culiat where she was raped before she was eventually killed.
Julie Ann's lifeless body, bearing gunshot wounds on the head and trunk, was dumped from a Montero van in Cubao at around 5 in the morning.
A MCDONALD'S RECEIPT LED TO THE SUSPECTS' ARREST
Authorities who responded to the crime scene found Julie Ann clutching a plastic bag containing a receipt from a popular fast-food chain.
The receipt eventually led investigators to identify Fernando by looking at the details on the receipt such as the McDonald's branch location and time of purchase, and checking these with the footage obtained from the restaurant's CCTV.
The investigation showed that Fernando had bought a burger meal and handed it to Jaymar, who then gave the food to Julie Ann.
At the time, another person identified as alias Aldos was also in the safe house and told Julie Ann to eat the food before they let her go.
Julie Ann replied that she would eat it at home, unaware of the plan to kill her.
According to court testimony, Fernando issued the order to the group, saying, "shoot to kill."
Jaymar alleged that Aldos and another man he identified as Efren Talib were responsible for raping and killing Julie Ann.
JULIE ANN'S FAMILY QUESTIONS VERDICT
The family of Julie Ann expressed disappointment with the court's decision to acquit Althea of wrongdoing in the crime.
Althea told the court during the trial that she was unaware that Julie Ann would be raped and killed, and she was sorry for what happened to her friend.
For Julie Ann's grieving family, the crime would not have been committed if Althea had not goaded her boyfriend Jay-Ar.
They are convinced that Althea was equally liable for the crime even if she did not give the direct order to the perpetrators, and she deserved to suffer the same fate as her lover.
“Masakit talaga kaya gusto ko madagdagan yung pagkakulong niya. Hindi naman mamamatay ang anak ko kung hindi siya ang naging dahilan," said Julie Ann's mother, Luz, who plans to appeal the decision.
Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) president Arsenio "Boy" Evangelista slammed the judgment, saying that Althea conspired with her boyfriend to harm Julie Ann.
Arsenio stressed that under the conspiracy theory, "the act of one is the act of all."