Neca Denise Lagria was a caring, hardworking daughter, who worked as a cashier of a restaurant to help her parents, who are vendors, in providing for their family’s needs. | Photo from Neca Denise Lagria’s FB page with consent from the family
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A seemingly ordinary day in Cebu City was disrupted by the discovery of a body of a dead woman floating off the waters at the South Road Properties on the early hours of Tuesday, November 19.
The body of an unidentified woman, dressed in what seemed like a uniform, was retrieved by authorities at the seawall at around 6:00 a.m.
When news of the body reached the public, a few individuals were panicked and rushed to check if the body was of their missing relative.
The mystery woman was identified only a day later as 22-year-old Neca Denise Lagria.
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Neca Denise Lagria is the youngest daughter of four children who opted to work to help her parents, who are vendors, in providing for the needs of the family. | Photo courtesy of Lagria family
But who exactly is Neca Denise? And what lead to her brutal death?
Lagria, fondly known by family as Denise, is the youngest of four children.
Denise was dearly loved by her parents and older sisters. The family of six lived in Sitio Silot in Brgy. Yati, Liloan town in northern Cebu.
Many of their relatives also lived in the same area, which is why Denise was particulary close with her cousin, Jnypher Noval.
Cousin describes Denise
In an interview with local media, Jnypher shared that Denise was very open in talking about her life with her family.
Jnypher said that her older cousin loved to dress up and take photos to share on her social media accounts. Denise was bright and friendly.
She added that Denise was a diligent and generous daughter to her parents. After graduating senior high school, Denise began working to help her parents, who work as vendors, with their finances.
Despite being the youngest child, Denise was determined to be of help to their family. She was known by her relatives as a hardworking and dedicated young woman.
Her current job was as a cashier at a restaurant in Mandaue City.
Denise would wake up early every day to head to work and come home late at night, according to Jnypher.
Left house early
On the day she went missing, Denise left their house earlier than usual to attend a work meeting at 5:00 a.m.
Her father took her on his motorcycle to an area near their house where she usually waited for a jeepney everyday.
This was her routine and her family went on their day thinking that she was at work as always.
Later that day, however, Denise did not come home. Her father, who was waiting for her at home, became alarmed when she still did not arrive at around 9:00 p.m.
The family never could have expected that the dead woman they kept seeing on the news was their very own Denise.
Jynpher said that she was at school when she came across the news of the dead body found at the South Road Properties at around 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
Denise’s aunt added that she had initial suspicions that the dead woman might be Denise because of some familiar features.
Neca Denise Lagria left home early to attend a 5 a.m. meeting in the restaurant she was working on November 19. | Photo from Neca Denise Lagria’s FB page with consent from the family
Cousin confirmed dead woman was Denise
On Wednesday, November 20, Jnypher and Denise’s brother-in-law were the first to arrive at a funeral home in Cebu City to check on the body.
Jnypher wept as she confirmed the victim’s identity after seeing Denise’s face and body covered in bruises. Denise was still wearing her uniform when they found her body.
With the confirmation of Denise’s death, her family is devastated and is having a difficult time accepting that their loved one has been brutally killed.
The victim’s family are at a loss on how to deal with the realization that Denise’s dreams have been cut short by the evil forces that ended her life at only 22-years-old.
Left with no choice but to accept what happened, Denise’s family members are hungry for justice and pleaded to local authorities to find the persons responsible as soon as possible.
Suspect nabbed, case closed
Fortunately, it did not take long for police to arrest the primary suspect accused of being involved in Denise’s death during police operations on Wednesday.
As of this writing, the investigation is ongoing to determine what really happened to the victim and why she was targeted in such a brutal crime.
The case on her death has been declared closed by local authorities two days after she was killed. The suspect, Godofredo Quiloan Brufal, will be facing murder charges.
Despite this development, the Lagria family are still left to deal with the pain of losing their loved one.
The bright and passionate Denise will never be able to achieve her dreams. Fate has not been kind to the hardworking girl who was brutally killed at only 22-years-old.