Parents of 5-year-old rape-slay victim want teen suspect behind bars

The parents of a five-year-old girl who was raped and killed allegedly by a 13-year-old neighbor in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan want nothing less than to see the suspect behind bars.

In her report on Unang Balita on Tuesday, Victoria Tulad said the girl's parents, Ernesto and Maricris Cruz, will accept nothing less than that.

"'Di kami papayag na pupunta lang sa DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development]," Maricris said.

She added that if the teen suspect cannot be put behind bars, then his father should be jailed.

On Monday, the Cruzes had to steel and control themselves when they faced the suspect who allegedly abused and killed their daughter Mariel on Saturday.

At the fiscal's office, the suspect confessed to the crime.

He said he was irritated at the victim so he strangled her with a cable wire and bag strap until she died.

Footage from a closed-circuit television of a subdivision showed the suspect walking toward a vacant house with the victim following him.

The said house is reportedly owned by a relative of the suspect.

He was next seen on CCTV footage leaving the house without a shirt on and carrying a sack.

The suspect threw the sack in a vacant lot.

Relatives found the victim's remains through the help of the officials of the subdivision.

The parents of the victim believe the suspect raped the child.

The suspect and the victim have known each other for a long time as the teen is friends with the victim's sibling, they said.

The parents said they were shocked to learn of the crime because the suspect is quiet and looks kind.

However, they said they cannot forgive the suspect for what he confessed to doing to their daughter.

Maricris said her daughter was always cheerful, kind, and friendly..and loved to dance.

The parents are asking President Rodrigo Duterte to help them get justice.

Other relatives of the victim believe the suspect may have had an accomplice in committing the crime.

The suspect is currently in the custody of the DSWD. —KG/KVD, GMA News