LUCENA CITY, Quezon – An eight-year-old girl was found dead in a vacant lot near the Manila Electric Co. office in Barangay Gulang-gulang here on Wednesday morning, May 31.
Police said that the girl was naked, her arms tied, and her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth. The victim’s body also had bruises.
The victim was a resident of Barangay Kalilayan Ibaba in Unisan, Quezon who came to Lucena along with her father to attend a fiesta on Tuesday, May 30.
According to the police, the victim and her father spent the night at the compound of the Quezon Medical Center (QMC) here.
The victim’s father said his daughter l went out around 1 a.m. to buy coffee but she never returned.
The father said he searched for her daughter in the vicinity of Barangay Gulang-Gulang and asked residents by showing a piece of paper with the victim's photo, name, and address.
At about 11:10 a.m., a man, Julius Rodas, saw the victim’s body and immediately sought assistance from barangay officials who then coordinated with the Lucena police.
The victim’s father, who was contacted, proceeded to the crime scene.
Investigators-on-case Police Master Sgt. Jessalyn Nantes and Police Staff Sgt. Blas John Gonzales conducted an on-site investigation with the technical assistance of the Scene-of-the Crime Operatives (SOCO).
Police were still waiting for the autopsy report.