Laguna ‘rape-slay’ victim buried; 4 undergo swab testing

Published March 8, 2012 8:05am

A girl who was found dead near her home in Los Baños in Laguna province last week was laid to rest Wednesday, amid continued calls by friends and relatives for justice.

Classmates and family members took part in a Mass and funeral procession for Rochelle Geronda, 14, according to a report on dzBB radio early Thursday.

Those who took part in the Mass at the San Antonio de Padua Church brought flowers and balloons, the report said.

After the Mass, they proceeded to the Los Baños public cemetery where Rochelle was buried.

A separate report on "Saksi" on Wednesday evening said the victim's relatives became emotional while she was being buried. Her grieving relatives appealed to the killers to surrender.

Rochelle's body was found last week, with signs she was strangled.

For their part, police investigators said they are following up leads but would not elaborate.

But the "Saksi" report quoted informants who said at least four men had undergone swab testing so their semen can be compared with semen samples recovered from the victim.

Reward for UPLB rob-slay suspects up by P50k

Meanwhile, the reward for the killers of University of the Philippines Los Baños agriculture student Ray Bernard Peñaranda rose to P350,000.

A separate report on "Saksi" said the latest addition to the reward was a P50,000 offer from Tanay, Rizal Mayor Rafael Tanjuatco.

Peñaranda was killed before dawn Sunday near the UPLB campus. Police have taken at least one suspect into custody and are tracking down at least two others. — RSJ, GMA News

Tags: uplb, rpcrimes, rape, rochellegeronda, losbanos