EXCLUSIVE
The daughter of a businessman murdered in the Philippines is getting married in five weeks. According to the family, they are living ‘a nightmare’.
Australian David James Fisk, 57, and his wife Lucita Barquin Cortez, 55, a Filipino-born Australian citizen, were found dead on Wednesday at The Lake Hotel in Tagaytay in Cavite province, southwest of the Philippine capital Manila.
In addition to the couple, the body of Mary Jane Cortez, a 30-year-old Filipina woman believed to be Cortez’s daughter-in-law, was also found.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that the tragedy comes as Fisk’s daughter Lacinda is due to marry her future husband in August.
Just three weeks ago, Lacinda, 27, celebrated her hen weekend with family and friends in Gerringong, on the New South Wales south coast, drinking cocktails, eating pizza, doing yoga and taking walks on the beach.
“Take me back to last weekend!” she wrote on Instagram.
‘I am still overwhelmed by the love I was surrounded with and the fact that everyone was so willing to spend their long weekend away with me and celebrate the good things that were to come. I am truly blessed.
‘I can’t wait to hit the dance floor with you in nine weeks!’
Pictured: 57-year-old Australian citizen David James Fisk, his Philippine-born Australian wife Lucita Barquin Cortez, 55,
Lucita Cortez and David Fisk (left) were brutally murdered in the Philippines, just weeks before they were to celebrate the wedding of their daughter Lacinda (in white) to her fiancé David Mullington (center) and Lacinda’s twin sister Brittany (right).
Lacinda Fisk, 27, is getting married in the coming weeks
On Friday morning, Mr. Fisk’s family released a statement expressing their grief and pleading for answers.
“The love we feel for our father and Lucita is so great and this situation is like a nightmare,” the statement said.
‘We pray for answers and the truth in this horrific case and pray for their safe return to Australian shores.’
‘David’s daughters, well-known and much-loved locals in Sutherland Shire, ask on behalf of their family that the media respects our privacy at this incredibly difficult and tragic time. We will not be commenting further.’
The family has a GoFundMe to help ‘obtain justice for all loved ones involved’ and will be used to ‘relieve the financial stress and burden resulting from this incredibly difficult time’.
A long-time neighbour of Mr Fisk and Ms Barquin Cortez told Daily Mail Australia on Friday that the couple were “very, very nice”.
She said she last saw them two weeks ago, when they were on their way to the airport for their holiday abroad.
“They were very happy to go to the Philippines,” she said.
‘I’m so shocked. It’s so sad.
‘I can’t believe they’re gone. [alive].
A longtime neighbor of David Fisk and Lucita Barquin Cortez (pictured) spoke fondly about the couple to Daily Mail Australia on Friday
Mrs. Cortez and her daughter-in-law Mary Jane, the third victim
A hotel employee found the victims’ bodies on Wednesday after they failed to check out of their hotel room.
Local police said all three were found with their hands and feet bound and with tape over their mouths.
Tagaytay Police Chief Charles Daven Capagcuan told The Associated Press that Fisk’s throat had been slit and the women may have been suffocated with a pillow.
Ms Cortez’s son, who spoke under the pseudonym “Brian”, told local media that his mother arrived in the Philippines on July 8 and that he met the couple at the airport.
He said his wife, Mary Jane, was actually going back to their home province of Mindoro, but his mother took her to the Tagaytay couple instead.
‘[She said] i’m going to take [her]…don’t send her home, I’m going to take her and she just came here to Tagaytay.’
He said he last spoke to his wife Monday night, when Mary Jane said, “Good night, I love you.” He said he tried to contact them in the days that followed, but when they didn’t respond, he called police.
Police are interviewing witnesses and reviewing security footage from the hotel. They would like to speak to a man seen on CCTV wearing a mask, black hoodie and maroon shorts. He was seen walking out of the victims’ room carrying a bag a few hours before the victims were found.
A statement from the Tagaytay Cavite Provincial Police Office said the station’s investigation team has been activated and “searches are being conducted at all possible points in Tagaytay and nearby provinces to apprehend and identify the suspect.”
Mayor Abraham Tolentino apologized to Australia and promised the incident would be resolved “as quickly as possible.”
“We are shocked by this incident,” he told local media.
David Fisk is pictured with his twin daughters, Lacinda and Brittany
The Lake Hotel in Tagaytay is located in the province of Cavite, southwest of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
“We sympathize enormously with our Australian friends.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the families of the two Australians who died.
“We extend our condolences to the families at this difficult time,” a DFAT spokeswoman said.
‘Due to our privacy obligations, we are unable to comment further.’
The Australian couple were reportedly scheduled to fly back to Australia on the day of their deaths, but decided to extend their trip at the last minute.
Mr Fisk’s body will be repatriated to Sydney, while both women will be buried in the Philippines. The government will pay for the funeral and cremation.
The luxury hotel where the couple stayed offers panoramic views of the world-famous Taal Lake and the volcano.
Opened in 2008, the four-star Lake Hotel Tagaytay costs $356 per night and is a 90-minute drive from Manila.