The 10-year-old girl from barangay Maghaway in Talisay City who was brutally killed and believed raped was brought to her final resting place on Wednesday, January 12, in Poblacion Public Cemetery. | Photo courtesy of Randy T Caballes page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The station commander of the Talisay City Police Station confirmed that the three individuals, whom Ian Rey Baculi,18, tagged as his accomplices in killing the 10-year-old girl from barangay Maghaway, were cleared from said allegations.
Baculi confessed to killing the girl when he was arrested on Wednesday in Mingalanilla town. He then tagged three other “friends” as part of the crime.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Randy Caballes, Talisay City Police Station chief, said they have subjected witnesses’ accounts and the documents that the three presented to prove their innocence to thorough investigation and scrutiny.
The alleged accomplices, Caballes said, went to their station to deny their involvement in the crime. They brought with them logbooks and co-workers to prove that they were not at the crime scene when the called murder happened.
Records in the logbooks confirm that the three were at their respective duties at the time the crime was committed.
“Gikuyog nila ang ilahang mga colleagues ug ang mga documents nga anang adlawa wa sila didto. Ang isa kay jeepney driver, gikuyog niya ang tag iya sa jeep nga nibarog gyud nga kanang adlawa nga ang kining isa ka gimention sa atoang suspect kay nag duty ug nag drive sa isa ka jeep pasaheroan. Ang isa kay usa ka truck boy then ang isa kay trabahante sa usa ka powerline,” Caballes said.
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Caballes said that the three persons voluntarily appeared at their station on Thursday, January 13, after Baculi mentioned them as his accomplices.
Caballes also said that they gathered statements from the three individuals together with the witnesses, employers, and colleagues. And that they have subjected all the information to validation.
The logbook entries, as well as the statements from their co-workers and the claims of at least seven witnesses who pointed at Baculi as the lone suspect in the gruesome crime, made the police clear the three, Caballes said.
The seven witnesses claimed that they saw Baculi strangle and drown the victim then brought the girl’s body to the cave where it was discovered three days after she was reported missing by her family.
READ: Missing girl, 10, found dead in cave in Talisay City
Caballes believes that Baculi may have tagged the three in a bid to get even after they figured in a fistfight. One of the three told police that they got into a fistfight with the suspect who was a notorious theft in their area.
“One time daw nagkasugmagay ni sila kay kining mga tawhana nangasuko aning aculi kay kini notado nga kawatan didto sa ilahang area,” Caballes said.
Caballes said the three alleged accomplices have no existing criminal records in their area.
He added that they will file a case of murder against Baculi today, January 14, 2022.
Inconsistencies in statements
Caballes added that Baculi was also inconsistent in his statements regarding the involvement of the three. On January 12, 2022, the day that he was arrested in Campo 7 in Minglanilla town, Baculi told police that he was alone when he committed the crime. However, on Thursday, October 13, he claimed that he was with three other individuals.
Caballes also revealed that Baculi told them that he felt ‘really guilty’ after committing the crime and that he has been seeing the victim days after the murder. The suspect also confessed to the police that he killed and raped the victim. He said that he followed the victim when the latter excused herself from her brother and cousin to go back to her mother who was washing clothes some 200 meters away.
The 10-year-old girl was found on January 9, half-buried in a cave in barangay Tapul in Talisay City, after she was reported missing by her family on January 6, 2022. A few days after she was found, the suspect was arrested with the help of those who have seen the incident. /rcg
READ: Talisay City offers P100k reward for info on culprits, who killed girl from Maghaway
Isolated Case
Caballes, however, clarified that this is an isolated case and that there is no group that is after innocent children. However, the police officer still reminded the public, especially parents, to look after their children and make sure that they know with whom their children are going.
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18-year-old suspect in killing of 10-year-old girl from Talisay City is arrested