Supreme Court upholds life sentence for Filipino man in murder case

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Supreme Court has upheld a life sentence for a Filipino migrant worker convicted of killing and dismembering his girlfriend, rejecting his final appeal.

The ruling, issued Tuesday, found no legal errors in the lower court judgments and finalized the case.

The defendant, Mark Dave Velasco, who is in his 30s, had been in a relationship with his girlfriend, fellow Filipino worker Red Michelle Selda, for about two years.

On the afternoon of July 17, 2023, Velasco pinned Selda down on a bed in their shared apartment in Taoyuan's Zhongli District following an argument, according to court records.

He strangled her until she became immobile and stabbed her multiple times in the abdomen, chest and neck with a screwdriver, causing massive bleeding.

He later dismembered her body, placing some bones and bloodstained clothing into bags, which he discarded in a company dormitory trash bin in Bade District. He then returned to the apartment to clean the scene and stole her wallet and phone.

The case came to light after Selda failed to report to work, prompting her employer to visit the apartment, where some of her remains were discovered.

Velasco was arrested and indicted in September 2024.

In a first-instance ruling issued in November 2024, the Taoyuan District Court said that despite admitting to the crime, Velasco had neither reached a settlement with the victim's family nor shown remorse.

Citing the brutality of the crime, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment for murder, destruction of a corpse and theft.

The verdict was later upheld by the High Court and, following a final appeal, by the Supreme Court.