| Geneva Lopez | |
| Birth Name: | Geneva Sarita Lopez |
| Birth Date: | 31 December 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Santo Tomas, Pampanga, Philippines |
| Death Date: | [1] |
| Death Place: | Capas, Tarlac, Philippines |
| Death Cause: | Murder and Gunshot Wound |
| Nationality: | Filipino |
| Partner: | Yitshak Cohen |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2023 | |
| Resting Place: | Gate of Heaven Memorial Chapel, Minalin, Pampanga, Philippines |
On 6 July 2024, the remains of Geneva Lopez, a Filipino beauty pageant contestant, and her Israeli partner Yitshak Cohen, were discovered in Capas, Tarlac, Philippines, following search operations since they had been reported missing on 21 June.[2]
Geneva Sarita Lopez (31 December 1997 –) was a Filipino model, businesswoman, and beauty pageant titleholder.
Lopez was born in Pampanga. She reportedly pursued her secondary education in Santo Tomas, and later worked at a BPO company at the Clark Freeport Zone.
Lopez had competed in beauty pageants, including the Mutya ng Pilipinas Pampanga 2023. At the time of her disappearance, the same organization had no final date yet for the pageant's 2024 edition where she was about to represent Santo Tomas.[3]
Prior to the disappearances of Lopez and her Israeli fiancé Yitshak Cohen, they had been residing in Angeles City.[4] [5]
Lopez and Cohen were last seen alive on 21 June 2024, when they went to Capas, Tarlac, to inspect the agricultural land they intended to purchase, as well as to meet a middleman, a certain Michael Angelo Guiang, who was a former police officer, to discuss a prior real estate deal involving Cohen. Guiang, who reportedly set a meeting with Cohen, had told him that he would give him the property in exchange for his unpaid debt.
A day later, their SUV was seen burning along the highway at the same municipality, where her partially burned belongings were recovered. They were reported missing since then and for two weeks.
On 6 July their bodies - in an advanced state of decomposition - were found at a quarry site in Capas. Both sustained gunshot wounds.[6] Lopez's remains were later cremated, while Cohen's remains were immediately flown back to Israel. They were each interred on 11 July with Lopez interred in Minalin, Pampanga.
There are seven persons of interest in the killing, five of them currently under police custody. Guiang, being tagged as the mastermind,[7] and another dismissed police officer are among the three who had been arrested, yet for another cases; while two surrendered.[8] In August 2024, the PNP-CIDG filed two counts of murder before the DOJ against five suspects, including two former police officers.[9]