Police in the Philippines have arrested murder suspect Mark Dizon after identifying him on Facebook. Dizon, a computer technician who had been accused of murdering nine people was captured by police in San Fernando City (north of Manila) after his father, fearful that his son would be killed in a gunbattle, worked with authorities and arranged to meet him.

Witnesses originally identified Dizon as the suspected murderer through his Facebook account, where police discovered that a daughter of one of the victims was linked as an ex-girlfriend.

“He had an account on Facebook and two witnesses positively identified him,” Senior Superintendent Danilo Bautista, police chief of Angeles city where the murders took place, told AFP (Agence France-Presse). Bautista also said Dizon apparently closed his Facebook account after sensing police were on his heels, however two witnesses had already positively identified him using his profile picture.

Angeles mayor Edgardo Pamintuan said murder charges had been filed against Dizon – “We are happy that this was solved with the help of the citizenry and technology because he was identified quickly”.

Mr Dizon allegedly befriended his victims and gained their trust before entering their homes on the premise that he was going to repair their computers.