Police said the victim, Jovelyn Margarico, was walking along a narrow pathway a few meters from her house in Barangay Poblacion 5 when she was dragged inside an abandoned house where she was repeatedly molested.
Chief Inspector Manuel Placido, General Mariano Alvarez police chief, said only one of the four suspects, Michael Ramirez, 28, has been charged for the rape-slay, with the rest released by the prosecutor’s office due to insufficient evidence.
According to Placido, Ramirez initially posed as a witness, personally going to the police station and claiming to know who were responsible for the crime.
But probers sensed something suspicious. They later learned that Ramirez had allegedly confided to a friend that he was involved in the incident.
"Nanood pa daw sila ng X-rated film bago nila ginahasa at pinatay ang bata (They reportedly even watched an X-rated film before they raped and killed the child)," Placido told The STAR.