CEBU CITY – A family in Carcar City, southern Cebu is crying for justice after the grave of their 22-year-old relative in a public cemetery was desecrated.
ONLOOKERS gather around a coffin that had been removed from its tomb in a cemetery in Carcar City, Cebu. The corpse was believed to have been sexually abused, a distressing act described as necrophilia. (MyTVCebu)
The family was shocked to discover that the coffin containing the remains of 22-old Angel (not her real name) was removed from the tomb.
Angel gave birth in a Cebu City hospital on Sept. 11 but had to be placed in the Intensive Care Unit when her condition worsened due to eclampsia. Angel died on Oct. 9.
Her remains were buried on Oct. 19 but around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, a gravedigger discovered that the coffin containing her body had been plucked out from its tomb and left abandoned on the ground.
When relatives opened the coffin, they were shocked to see the corpse stripped off of her clothes, exposing her private parts.
The family reported the incident to the police. Swab samples have been taken from the body for a forensic examination to determine if the remains were sexually abused.
Artemio Laputan, the gravedigger, was among the persons who helped bury the remains.
Laputan said it was the first time in his 30 years as a gravedigger that he experienced such an incident.
He believes that two persons were behind the desecration.
Laputan said that the persons involved in the distressing act are the same individuals who know where he kept his tools for burials.
One of Laputan’s helpers, a certain Clinton, denied involvement in the crime. He said that he left for Cebu City several hours after Angel was buried.
Police Lt. Col. Bryan O'Neil Salvacion, chief of the Carcar City Police Station, said some individuals are being considered as persons of interest but he refused to reveal further details.
Salvacion said if proven that the corpse was molested, the persons involved could be charged for necrophilia which carries a penalty of lifetime imprisonment.
Necrophilia, according to Wikipedia, is a pathological fascination with dead bodies, which often takes the form of a desire to engage with them in sexual activities, such as intercourse.