BI: Suspect in hazing victim's death out of the country

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 21) — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said one of the principal suspects in the death of hazing victim Horacio Castillo III has left the country.

BI Spokesperson Tonette Mangrobang said Ralph Trangia, a law student of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), boarded on Tuesday an EVA Air flight bound for Taipei, Taiwan.

Mangrobang said Trangia left before the bureau received the Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order that the Justice Department issued on Wednesday for the 16 people possibly involved in Castillo's death.

Castillo, a UST law freshman, was found on the streets of Tondo, Manila on Sunday morning after taking part in hazing rites of the Aeris Juris Fraternity, where Trangia is an official.

Read: UST law student dead after alleged hazing

Manila Police District Director Joel Coronel said on Wednesday that Trangia, along with his father Antonio, owned the vehicle used to transport Castillo's body to the hospital.

The Trangias, along with UST law student John Paul Solano, are the subjects of a police manhunt.

Read: Police name 3 principal suspects in UST hazing death; manhunt ongoing

"Clearly John Paul Solano, with the assistance and cooperation of Antonio Trangia and Ralph Trangia, deliberately misled our operation to the death of Castillo by providing us false and fraudulent statements. They are now considered as suspects in this investigation," Coronel said.

Police said Solano, who supposedly recruited the victim to join the fraternity, claimed he chanced upon the lifeless body of Castillo.

Read: UST law student who found alleged hazing victim a 'person of interest' in slay case

Mangrobang also said the younger Trangia had no derogatory record, which allowed him to leave the country.

CNN Philippines Correspondent Rex Remitio contributed to this report.