An autopsy conducted on the bodies of the two boys found dead in an abandoned car in Pampanga points to suffocation as the cause of death.
This is indicated in the death certificates.
The two boys, five and six years old, were found dead in an abandoned car in Barangay Moras Dela Paz, Sto. Tomas, Pampanga on July 8, 2024.
Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage held by the Sto. Tomas Police shows the children playing near an open parking space, entering a van briefly, and later moving to the car where they were found dead.
Their entry into the vehicle was not captured clearly in the footage.
"Nakita namin ‘yung dalawang bata na sila lang pumasok doon sa open parking space na ‘yun. Noong una, naglaro sila doon sa katabing van na nakabukas din. Mga two to three minutes sila doon lumipat sila sa kotse kung saan sila natagpuan [na patay]... nag-review kami ng two hours, walang lumabas," PCPT. Jester Calis, Chief of the Sto. Tomas Police Station, said.
Police said the car's door on the driver's side was open, allowing the children to enter, but all internal door handles were reportedly dysfunctional from the inside.
"Doon sa driver side nakabukas [ang pinto], doon sila pumasok. Siguro noong naglaro sila, hinila nila [ang pinto]. Hindi na nila mabuksan [yung pinto]; mabubuksan lang ‘yun from the outside," Calis said.
Both children died of suffocation reportedly.
"Sabi ng doktor na nakausap, kumbaga ‘yung tao na-suffocate sa ganyang closed na sasakyan. Pinakamabilis siyang mawawalan ng malay, mamatay, [o] ma-suffocate is 10 minutes," Calis said.
Investigation into the case continues, as of this writing.
The siblings now lay side by side inside a chapel in Barangay Sto. Niño in San Fernando City.
Their favorite shoes were placed on top of their coffins.
According to authorities, the children lived with their mother in Sto. Tomas, while their father resided in the City of San Fernando. The parents had been separated for some time.