DAVAO CITY – Police are preparing charges against the suspect in the killing of a 17-year-old aspiring model in 2020 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
TAGUM City Police Office chief Police Lt. Col. Wildemar Tiu (right) inspects the skeletal remains believed to be of Quinnie Grace Arong. (Tagum PNP)
Tagum police chief Police Lt. Col. Wildemar Tiu said the skeletal remains of Quinnie Grace Arong were discovered on July 14, 2024 in Purok 5, Barangay Apokon, Tagum .
Tiu said that Arong’s case resurfaced following the recent report of a stepfather who allegedly killed his stepdaughter in nearby Panabo City, Davao del Norte.
Photos and videos of the recovery of Arong’s remains went viral on social media after they were reported by local news outfits.
Tiu said that they already have a suspect in Arong’s case.
However, Tiu said that they have yet to secure a warrant of arrest pending the additional dioxyribonucleic acid test confirming that the remains recovered were indeed Arong's.
He said that forensics are facing difficulties in processing due to limited samples from the remains. The DNA samples are being processed at the Philippine National Police-Regional Crime Laboratory here.
Tiu added that the victim’s mother confirmed that recovered personal belongings were worn by her daughter before she went missing.
Arong’s remains were discovered by workers digging a septic tank at the back of the boarding house where the suspect rented in 2020.
“When we did the backtracking, we found out that there was no other occupant but this certain Jay in that boarding house at the height of the pandemic in 2020,” Tiu said.
The landlord confirmed that the rope recovered from the dig site was from their laundry area and the towel belonged to the suspect.
Further investigation revealed that a photographer identified Jay lured Arong to a modeling job in Davao and Manila, Tiu said.
The victim’s best friend attested that she last saw Queenie with Jay for a photo shoot, the police officer said.
Tiu believes that the victim was raped and brutally murdered.
“We are urging the suspect to surrender to the police, we know who you are and where you are hiding,” Tiu said.