A nine-year-old girl who had been reported missing was found dead at a vacant lot in Barangay Santa Lucia, Novaliches, Quezon City, on Sunday afternoon, August 3.

Barangay officials said the child was discovered lifeless and unclothed inside a compound in the area at around 5:00 p.m.

Her father, who was among the first to reach the scene, reportedly wrapped her in a blanket upon finding her body.

“Noong pumunta ako, nakabalot na po siya ng kumot kasi siguro po noong unang dumating doon yung magulang mismo nakita ng magulang na lalaki (tatay) yung anak niya binalot niya po agad ng kumot kasi natagpuan po yung bata ayon sa mga nakakita hubo't hubad na (When I arrived at the scene, she was already wrapped in a blanket because maybe when her parents arrived ahead of me, the father saw his daughter, he immediately wrapped her in a blanket because the child was found completely naked),” Barangay Sta. Lucia chairman Ruel Marpa said.

The victim was reported missing on Saturday, August 2.

A CCTV footage obtained by local officials showed the victim entering the compound with a boy, identified as her 13-year-old neighbor.

He was brought in for questioning by barangay personnel immediately. The boy allegedly admitted to strangling the girl until she lost consciousness.

“Sabi niya noong madaling araw, doon nga po sila pumunta sa Valbuena compound bandang dulo. Magkasama po sila. Doon sa testimony niya po ang pagkakasabi niya sa amin noong gabi na yun ay sinakal niya lang. Pagkasakal niya, nawalan ng malay. Doon na po ginawa siguro yung hindi dapat mangyari (He said that early in the morning, that's where they went to the farthest end of Valbuena compound. They were together. In his testimony, he told us that night that he just strangled her. After strangling her, she lost consciousness. That's probably when he did something to the unconscious girl),” Marpa said.

The body of the girl will undergo an autopsy.

As of this writing, the 13-year-old boy remained under police custody.