Filipino police have made no arrests one year after a Nanaimo man was found shot to death at his condominium in the Philippines.
They have a suspect, an investigator from that country claims, but not enough evidence to make a charge stick.
Robert William Dublanko, 65, was killed in Makati City, a suburb of Manila, on April 14 of last year. The geoduck fisherman and his wife, Carolina, who is originally from the Philippines, left Nanaimo in February 2009 and that was the last anyone had heard from them, according to the couple's downstairs tenant Brian Goodburn. He said he received a phone call from an upset Carolina saying she had returned to the couple's condo to find her husband dead from six shots.
Filipino police initially thought Dublanko was the victim of a robbery gone bad, but that theory was nixed because it was determined he was asleep in bed at the time.
Makati City police homicide investigator Jason David said the case is "still pending" and while police have a suspect they don't have much evidence to back up the allegations.
Initial police reports last year suggested Robert Dublanko may have discovered thieves in his condominium because approximately $6,300 (250,000 in Philippines pesos) was missing, but investigators were not able to confirm that money was taken.
Goodburn said the anniversary of Dublanko's death is a tough time for him and Carolina, who was the man's fifth Filipino wife. They hoped that police would have caught the culprit by now to have closure and "clear the air."
Goodburn has been house-sitting the couple's waterfront home on Battersea Road while lawyers deal with Dublanko's extensive estate.
Goodburn, who had known Dublanko for about three years, said he was a very successful and wealthy businessman who sometimes rubbed people the wrong way when he was drinking.
Goodburn said that he was close to the couple, who helped him through "a very depressing time in my life" after the death of his wife.
He considers himself among the few people in Nanaimo who knew Dublanko well.
"Any close friends, he kind of pushed away. I guess when you're worth the kind of money Bob was, it's kind of hard to have friends," he said.
"Basically, everything he touched turned to money. He was a very smart man when it came to making money."
Goodburn said that Carolina is living in Vancouver, where she is caring for Dublanko's ailing mother, who is more than 90 years old.
He said she was still upset about her late husband's death and did not want to speak with the media.
