Philippines Crime News: Woman’s body found in refrigerator after landlord smells foul odor inside home, person of interest in custody

A chilling case has emerged in the Philippines where a woman was found dead inside a refrigerator. Rodriguez Municipal Police (RMP) launched an investigation into the incident, sharing a photo of the deceased woman, who remained unidentified at the time of filing of this report, on Facebook. She was found dead in Rodriguez, Philippines, on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, along with a description of her appearance.

Police noted that she appeared to be between 25 and 30 years old. Soon after RMP shared her photos, the father of the victim positively identified her remains, police said in an update on Friday, September 18, according to local outlets ABS-CBN, The Manila Times and PhilStar. Authorities have withheld the victim's name. Her body was discovered on September 16, 2026, according to The Manila Times. The landlord went to the house on September 10 to ask the tenant to sign a lease contract, but no one came out, and a few days later, a foul odour from the house prompted him to call the police.

While speaking at a press briefing, spokesman for the Philippine National Police (PNP), Col. Allen Rae Co, told reporters that they identified her partner as a person of interest and he was in custody. “The person of interest has an arrest warrant for serious illegal detention,” Co said, as quoted by PhilStar. “The deceased just returned home after posting bail — she’s facing the same case as the person of interest,” Co further stated, according to The Manila Times and ABS-CBN.


He also claimed that money could have been the motive behind the killing, as the father of the victim told police that his daughter was carrying a large amount of money at the time, the outlet reported. ​“The woman allegedly has money, according to the father, so most likely, they fought over the money or something,” Co said. Citing authorities, PhilStar reported that she had visible strangulation marks and estimated that she had been dead for six to seven days before the landlord discovered her.

According to investigators, the suspect may have placed the woman in the refrigerator to delay her body from decomposition, giving him more time to escape from police, the outlet reported.