A Boston resident, Ralph Manecke, 56, was tragically killed during a robbery in the Philippines while on vacation with his partner, Jerald Ceasar Tornea, a native of the Philippines. The incident occurred on the same island notorious for crime where an American YouTuber was kidnapped last year, according to law enforcement officials.
Manecke was withdrawing approximately $800 from an ATM in the town of Trento on Wednesday night when he was attacked by an assailant wearing a helmet. The attacker emerged from an SUV just as Manecke and Tornea had secured the cash in their bag, police reported.
The robber, whose face was concealed, forcefully took the bag from Tornea and shot Manecke in the stomach before making his escape. Tornea recounted the horrifying incident to the police, stating that the man had approached them from an SUV that had pulled up beside them.
Tornea described the chilling encounter, saying the man had greeted them before brandishing a gun. He warned Manecke not to move, leaving Tornea paralyzed with fear. After Tornea dropped to the ground, the robber seized the bag and fired a shot.
Witnesses captured heart-wrenching footage of a distraught Tornea holding Manecke’s lifeless body in the street before the arrival of the police. Manecke was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The investigation into the fatal robbery is ongoing. The incident took place on the southern island of Mindanao, the same location where Elliot Onil Eastman, a 26-year-old YouTuber from Vermont, was abducted at gunpoint from his in-laws’ home in October of last year. Eastman, who had recently married, was taken away in a motorboat and has not been found to date.