The family of visual artist Bree Jonson urged the authorities to conduct a deeper investigation over the artist’s mysterious death in a hotel room in San Juan, La Union.
THE son of business tycoon Roberto Ongpin is in the police crosshairs over his alleged involvement in the mysterious death of visual artist and socialite Bree Jonson in San Juan, La Union over the weekend.
Bree Johnson, Instagram
Julian Ongpin, 29, has lots of explaining to do after being implicated in the death of Jonson, who was found unconscious at a hotel room they were sharing in the said town Saturday morning (September 18).
The 30-year-old artist was rushed to the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in San Fernando City, La Union, where she was declared dead on arrival.
According to policemen investigating the incident, authorities found “plenty of cocaine” in the room where Jonson and Ongpin stayed.
“What I can only say now is we found plenty of cocaine in the bed. We cannot tell what caused her death. We have to wait for the result of the autopsy,” Police Maj. Gerardo Macaraeg, chief of San Juan police, told media.
According to Macaraeg, Ongpin and Jonson checked in at the hostel at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, then left the establishment about two hours later when friends dropped by to pick them up.
Macaraeg said the two returned at 2:58 a.m., based on the logbook of the hostel’s guard.
He said that according to the staff, they heard an argument from the room which went on for about 15 minutes.
Ongpin was arrested and charged with possession of illegal drugs, but was later reportedly released by the San Juan police.
Released?
Jonson’s family have urged the authorities to conduct a deeper investigation over the artist’s death, questioning why Ongpin was released despite the fact that possession of illegal drugs is a nonbailable offense.
"We are asking the authorities to give us a full report as to why he was released. Of course, the family feels disappointed because we don't know the entire story," Jill Palarca, a cousin, told media.
"Until everything is in place, we hope that all people involved should be available for questioning...we're just disappointed that the matter has developed while the autopsy has not yet been done. We are just surprised and we hope it will not affect the case."
So far, police have remained silent on the report of Ongpin’s alleged release.
Tags: #crime, #PhilippineNationalPolice, #LaUnion, #BreeJonson, #JulianOngpin