Grade 4 pupil found dead in Tupi, South Cotabato; neighbor a suspect

A 10-year-old Grade 4 pupil was found dead in a pineapple field in Tupi, South Cotabato after her family reported her missing.

According to a 24 Oras Weekend report by Jonathan Andal on Sunday, the victim, KC (not her real name) was last seen on her way to school on May 10.

When her father went to the school to pick her up, he was told that she had already left for home.

“Nagtaka siya na ang sabi ng guwardiya, umuwi na raw ang bata so umuwi siya. Dumating ang alas-singko ng hapon hanggang magdilim na wala pa rin ang bata na nakarating sa kanilang bahay,” said Tupi Police deputy chief Police Lieutenant Richard Ho.

(The guard told him that the child had already left, so he went home. It turned to 5 p.m., then midnight, and the child was still not home.)

The family requested assistance in their search for the child, who was found in a creek near a pineapple field. She was found with her underwear lowered and face injured.

Witnesses from the police investigation stated that the victim was last seen with her 44-year-old neighbor, who was later arrested.

“[Kapag] iba ang magtanong sa kanya, iba ang kanyang sagot. Hindi consistent yung [sagot]. Bakit andun siya sa isolated place na ‘yun? Hindi naman siya worker doon sa pinyahan,” said Ho.

([When] someone else would question him, he would give a different answer. His [answers] were inconsistent. Why was he in that isolated place? He wasn’t a worker in that pineapple field.)

While his fingerprints were being processed, the suspect grabbed a gun from a police officer and was shot in the head by another officer.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education condemned the murder of the child and extended their condolences to the family of the victim.

“The Department of Education (DepEd) deplores the murder of a 10-year-old learner in Tupi, South Cotabato as she was heading home from school. DepEd extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved family, friends, and classmates of the victim during this time of grief,” the statement read. — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News