Boracay murder suspects still at large one year on

A year after three prominent Hong Kong residents and a Filipino maid were hacked to death in Boracay, their assailants remain at large.

Swiss-born gallery owner Manfred Schoeni, 58, German property developer Anton Forstenhausler, 69, and architect John Cowperthwaite were found dead on May 2 last year in separate rooms at the luxurious La Dolce Vita villa on the resort island in the Philippines.

The fourth victim was Irma Sarmiento, a maid Forstenhausler employed at the villa. A German national, Uwe Friesl, 38, remains at large despite a nationwide police hunt for the murder suspect.

Ricardo Diaz, chief of the international police division of the National Bureau of Investigation said yesterday that he had no new developments to report in the case. Forstenhausler's neighbour, Pat Varga, said yesterday: 'Our life is back to normal. I'm no longer afraid.'

Ms Varga spent sleepless nights for weeks after the murders, especially after 11 suspects, all construction workers, were released from custody.

She said no one now lived in La Dolce Vita except for a caretaker couple and their son. The owners had also built a bamboo gate to keep out tourists.

Anyone approaching Boracay by sea can easily spot the gleaming, red-tiled, three-storey villa sitting on the island's highest promontory.