The person of interest (POI) in the alleged rape and killing of a five-year-old girl in Valencia City, Bukidnon allegedly shot himself to death after he turned himself in to authorities.

Police said the man surrendered to the Valencia City Task Force on Sunday, January 12, 2025, and reportedly owned up to the crime.

While he was giving his extra-judicial confession together with his legal counsel, he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman and shot himself.

He did not reach the hospital alive.

“Confession nga siya ang mihimo sa maong krimen but then ongoing nga pagkuha og affidavit kaniya, kalit lamang nga, though nakaposas kani siya nga nakabutang sa atubangan, kalit lamang niya gikuha ang pusil sa investigator nga maoy nagkuha sa iyaha og affidavit iya kini gipusil ubos sa iyang chin,” Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao (PRO-10) Spokesperson, Major Joann Navarro, said.

The girl who was killed was found dead at a sugarcane plantation on Saturday, January 11.

The victim was believed to have been raped first before she was killed. Her body was found a day after she went missing.

The girl’s mother, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), is returning to the Philippines following the incident.

“Ngano mga bata man ang inyong gitripingan? Diha sa valencia ngano mga bata man ang inyong gitripingan mga rapists?” she said.

The mother is reportedly on her way to the Philippines.