By Calvin Cordova
CEBU CITY – Too much jealousy apparently drove a 17-year-old boy to kill his ex-girlfriend Christine Lee Silawan.
Lourdes Silawan, mother of slain 16-year-old Christine Silawan, just wants justice to the gruesome crime that was done to her daughter in Lapu Lapu City. (JUAN CARLO DE VELA / MANILA BULLETIN)
This was the initial finding of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) following the arrest of the boy, who was tagged as a suspect in the gruesome killing of Silawan.
A complaint about murder in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act was filed against the boy before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday.
NBI 7 Assistant Regional Director Dominador Cimafranca said violation of the anti-cybercrime was committed since the boy used the social media in the commission of the crime.
The boy was arrested Saturday night in his home in Barangay Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City.
The NBI-7 said the investigation led them to the boy as the suspect based on their exchanges in Facebook messenger.
The NBI-7 was also able to recover 12 footages captured by security cameras of six establishments, including that of the Sacred Heart Parish Church where the girl served as alms collector.
One of the security footage showed Christine and a male friend eating “balut.”
The NBI-7 said it was possible that the boy got jealous when he saw Christine and his male friend together.
“Jealousy, too much anger,” said NBI 7 Director Tomas Enrile, citing the possible reason the boy killed Christine.
Another footage showed Silawan and the boy seemingly arguing while walking along a road, which was near the vicinity where the victim was killed.
The NBI-7 said the area where Silawan and the boy were last captured by a security camera was near a pathway directly heading toward an area in Barangay Bankal where the victim was found dead.
Based on the NBI-7 investigation, the two broke up last February 28 but they agreed to meet last March 10 as the boy was supposed to give a teddy bear and a cell phone to the victim.
Based on the post mortem examination, the victim was killed between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on March 10.
The NBI-7 cited key “take aways” that pointed to the ex-boyfriend as the primary suspect. It said the boy was the only person that the victim met last March 10 at around 6 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Church. Silawan was found dead early morning on March 11.
The boy was also the last person identified to be with the victim the last time Silawan was seen alive.
Moreover, the NBI-7 said there are witnesses who identified the two as the ones seen in the security footage they were able to recover.
“We have strong circumstantial evidence and the boy has abrasions in his body,” said Enrile.
Silawan was found with at least 20 stab wounds. Some of her internal organs were missing.
When asked if the boy owned up to the crime, Cimafranca said: “He is a minor so we didn’t ask him about that.”