Ruby Rose Barrameda, born in 1980, was described by her sister, actress Rochelle Barrameda, as simple, cheerful, and caring. In 1999, at age 19, she married Manuel Jimenez III, known as “Third,” who hailed from a wealthy and influential family involved in fishing, agriculture, and real estate. The couple had two daughters, Marga and Martha, during their nearly eight-year marriage.

Their relationship, however, soured. In early 2007, following a heated argument that reportedly turned physical, Ruby Rose left their home, taking her children with her. This separation ignited a bitter conflict between the Barrameda and Jimenez families. The situation escalated when Third’s father, Attorney Manuel Jimenez Jr., arranged for the children to attend a family wedding but failed to return them at the agreed-upon time.

The Barramedas’ frantic calls went unanswered. When Ruby Rose and her family went to the Jimenez residence in BF Homes, they waited for hours, but neither Third nor his father appeared. The children remained with the Jimenez family. The Barramedas filed a habeas corpus petition to compel Third to produce the children and sought a protection order for Ruby Rose.

Shockingly, the court granted custody to Third, citing Ruby Rose’s departure from the marital home and the eldest daughter’s expressed preference to stay with her father. The judge denied the protection order, stating there was insufficient evidence of danger to Ruby Rose. The arrangement allowed Ruby Rose visitation rights at the Jimenez home in BF Homes.

On March 14, 2007, the same day she received the court’s denial of her protection order, Ruby Rose went to the bank and then headed to BF Homes to visit her daughters. She never arrived and was never seen alive again. Around 4 p.m., Rochelle received a call from Ruby Rose’s friend, unable to contact her. Rochelle’s calls to Ruby Rose’s three phones went unanswered.

The Jimenez family claimed Ruby Rose never showed up at their house. After hours of searching dark alleys and hospitals, the Barramedas reported her missing, immediately suspecting Third and his father were involved.

They offered a reward and distributed flyers, but days turned into weeks, months, and then years, with no sign of Ruby Rose.

Rochelle later revealed they initially hesitated to speak out against the powerful Jimenez family, fearing Ruby Rose was being held captive and could be harmed.

Their desperate hope turned to despair after consulting a fortune teller who claimed Ruby Rose was no longer alive. This grim prediction seemed to materialize on May 18, 2009, two years after her disappearance. Manuel Montero, a former operations manager at BSJ Fishing and Trading Corporation—a company owned by Third’s uncle, Lope Jimenez—surrendered to authorities.

Montero confessed his involvement and led police to Navotas Port, pointing to a specific location underwater. He implicated his accomplices—Lope Jimenez, Leonard “Spike” Descalso (Third’s bodyguard), Robert “Obet” Ponce, and Eric Fernandez, all employees of BSJ Fishing. Crucially, Montero named Third, Attorney Jimenez Jr., and Lope Jimenez as the masterminds.

According to Montero’s sworn statement, the plan to eliminate Ruby Rose was hatched two days before her abduction. Retrieving the target from the water proved difficult due to its weight. The next day, authorities successfully recovered a heavy steel case. Inside was a drum, and within the drum, encased in solid concrete, were the remains of a woman, hands and feet bound.

The medical examiner determined she had been tortured before her life was ended by asphyxia via strangulation. Dental records later confirmed the body was Ruby Rose Barrameda. Her remains were laid to rest on June 17, 2009. Heartbreakingly, her young daughters were reportedly not allowed by the court to attend the funeral, though the judge claimed the children themselves refused to go.

In July 2009, Third gave a rare interview, painting Ruby Rose as unfaithful, claiming her alleged affairs were the root of their marital problems and the reason she left. He showed a purported letter of apology from her and denied any family involvement in her disappearance, even suggesting the body found might not be hers. Rochelle fiercely defended her sister, admitting Ruby Rose hadn’t been entirely loyal but asserting that the real reason she left was Third’s repeated physical abuse, which culminated in him allegedly slamming her head against a cabinet in front of their daughter.

Montero’s detailed confession provided a horrifying account of Ruby Rose’s final moments. On March 14, 2007, upon arriving at the BF Homes residence, she was immediately abducted, forced into a Jimenez vehicle, while another operative drove her car. They took her to the BSJ warehouse in Navotas. Before she was silenced, she reportedly asked Montero what she had done wrong.

Montero claimed Spike Descalso then used a rope to end her life. Her body was placed in a drum, which was then put inside a stolen steel case. Montero admitted to welding the case shut before they dumped it into Navotas Port. He stated Lope Jimenez told him Attorney Jimenez ordered the hit because Ruby Rose had brought “shame” to the family. Afterward, Lope allegedly paid each participant PHP 50,000. Montero later added that Spike received a bonus from Third for “solving his problem.”

Based on this confession, in August 2009, murder charges were filed against Third, Attorney Jimenez Jr., Lope Jimenez, Fernandez, Ponce, and Descalso. The Department of Justice later approved an additional charge of parricide against Third.

Attorney Jimenez Jr. surrendered and was placed under hospital arrest due to heart problems, a situation the Barramedas viewed cynically as an attempt to avoid jail. Lope Jimenez and the other accused went into hiding.

The Jimenez legal team fought vigorously to disqualify Montero as a state witness, initially succeeding in March 2010. However, a new judge reversed this decision in July 2010, allowing Montero’s testimony.

The defense appealed, claiming bias, but the Court of Appeals upheld the judge’s ruling. In a setback for the Barramedas, the DOJ eventually dismissed the murder charge against Third due to insufficient evidence directly linking him to the act itself.

During the trial, Montero testified that guilt plagued him, leading him to resign from BSJ a year after the crime and relocate his family before finally confessing. The defense countered ferociously, attacking the identification of the body. They brought in renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun, who criticized the crime lab’s reliance solely on dental X-rays and casts, deeming it insufficient for positive identification.

Dr. Fortun highlighted discrepancies: the body’s height was recorded as 5’6″, while Ruby Rose was 5’9″. Furthermore, dental records showed Ruby Rose was missing tooth number 14, yet the recovered remains had that tooth.

The prosecution explained the height difference resulted from the body’s prolonged confinement in the drum and argued that orthodontic work (braces) had shifted Ruby Rose’s teeth, causing tooth number 15 to occupy the space of number 14.

The defense also pointed to Montero’s claim of strangulation by ligature (rope), contrasting it with the official autopsy finding of manual strangulation with no ligature marks.

They presented evidence of Ruby Rose paying a travel agent shortly before disappearing, suggesting she planned to leave voluntarily. The prosecution relied heavily on the positive identification by Ruby Rose’s parents and sister, based on clothing and jewelry found with the remains.

The case dragged on for years, plagued by delays common in the Philippine justice system and the Barramedas’ financial struggles, forcing them to rely on pro bono legal help. Then, in March 2013, the case imploded. Manuel Montero submitted a handwritten retraction, claiming his entire confession was coerced and fabricated.

He stated the drum came from Cavite and he placed it in the port himself days before “leading” police there. Shortly after, Montero vanished from the Witness Protection Program safe house.

Despite pleas from Ruby Rose’s father to then-Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Montero was never found. His disappearance left the prosecution’s case gutted.

In June 2019, over a decade after Ruby Rose’s life was taken, Malabon RTC Judge Edwin Larida Jr. dismissed the murder charges against Attorney Jimenez Jr., Descalso, and Ponce, and the parricide charge against Third, citing insufficient evidence following Montero’s retraction.

The Barrameda family filed a motion for reconsideration, accusing the judge of bias, but their efforts proved futile. Lope Jimenez and Eric Fernandez remain fugitives, their murder charges technically still pending but untried. Manuel Montero is still missing. For Ruby Rose Barrameda and her grieving family, justice remains tragically out of reach.