Missing girl found decapitated, tied to a tree in Toledo City, Cebu

A 12-year-old girl who had been missing for a week was found headless and tied to a tree in Toledo City, Cebu.

According to a "24 Oras" report by GMA Regional TV's Fe Marie Dumaboc on Friday, residents discovered the body at a mountainous part of the barangay after a dog found the victim’s foot.

The body was found decapitated and tied to a tree, with the victim’s head located nearby.

“Yung aso ang tumangay ng paa. Nakita ng papa ko doon, kaya nireport nila sa barangay,” said the dog’s owner.

(The dog was the one that took the foot. My father saw it, so they immediately reported it to the barangay.)

Further investigation revealed that the victim was 12-year-old Crystal Joy Abarquez, who had been missing since February 11.

“Hindi ko ma-contact ang aking anak ng tawagan ko… Tumatawag ako, hinanap namin ilang araw na hindi namin nakita… Walang hiya ang taong ito, itinago niya. Sobrang sakit, masakit ang ginawa niya sa aking anak,” said the victim’ mother, Christine Abarquez.

(I couldn’t contact my daughter when I tried to call her… I called her, we looked for her for days but we couldn’t find her anymore… This person has no shame, he hid her. It really hirts, what he did to my daughter hurts.)

CCTV footage showed that the victim was last seen on a motorcycle with an unidentified male around 5 p.m. on February 11.

Witnesses later identified the suspect as Crystal Joy’s second cousin, who was immediately arrested.

“Di ko lang iaano yung mismong investigation, pero may positive identification yung nag-identify talaga sa suspect natin,” said Toledo Police chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Roland Barraquio.

(I won’t share the exact investigation, but the people who identified our suspect really gave positive identification.)

“Hangad namin ang hustisya… Hindi ka makakalabas ng kulungan. Sana mabulok ka sa kulungan,” added Christine Abarquez.

(We are hoping for justice… He will never get out of jail. I hope he rots in jail.)

While police wait for the autopsy results to determine whether the victim was also raped, they are preparing murder charges against the suspect.

The suspect also has two rape charges in Iloilo, according to the police.

Meanwhile, the suspect denied the accusations.

“Ang bata pa niya. Sa totoo lang, may anak din ako na babae, kaya tumulong ako sa paghahanap,” the suspect said.

(She’s still too young. To be honest, I also have a daughter; that’s why I helped in looking for her.) —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News