Manhattan Police Officer Closes Cold-Case While On Vacation In The Philippines

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NYPD News

Armed with his sharp investigative skills and a bit of coincidental luck, Police Officer Gavin Hormillosa helped close a cold case from 2012. Officer Hormillosa first encountered this case when he was asked to transport evidence from the scene of a murder to the forensic laboratory. He later found out that the suspect was working for his elderly victim in his home during the time of the alleged crime.

The suspect fled to the Philippines in an attempt to evade accountability. Officer Hormillosa took special interest in the case because he has family ties in the Philippines and spends most of his vacations visiting his retired parents back home in Southeast Asia.

Officer Hormillosa’s involvement in the case deepened when a lead detective guided him through the process of becoming a certified NYPD translator specifically for the case. Unfortunately, the investigation came to a halt when the 2013 typhoon devastated the area of the Philippines where the suspect allegedly resided. For several years the case went cold as officials believed the suspect had went missing in the typhoon. Yet in 2016, media savvy Officer Hormillosa found some much needed new information.

“Because social media was such a vital part of the case in the past, on a whim I decided to search for the perpetrator on Facebook again,” said Officer Hormillosa.

To his surprise, the suspect had created a new Facebook profile using his real name. By searching through social media posts, Officer Hormillosa was able to find new information. He also determined that the suspect was working in the city of Makati. Officer Hormillosa immediately shared this information with the 17 Precinct Detective Squad.

A few weeks later, Officer Hormillosa happened to be in Makati for a family baptism. While walking in the same area that the suspect had mentioned in social media posts, Officer Hormillosa spotted the suspect. In his own words:

“After following this case for four years, I turned around and saw him walking directly across the street from me, wearing a yellow construction vest.”

To confirm his belief that this was the suspect, Officer Hormillosa walked to the nearby mall. At the mall he saw several restaurants the perpetrator and his wife had posted about on social media. In this moment, Officer Hormillosa knew they had him. He immediately wrote down all pertinent information and reported it back to the 17 Precinct Detectives Squad. Officer Hormillosa gathered this intelligence in the summer of 2016 and by November 2016 the perpetrator arrested was extradited to New York City.

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