MANILA, Philippines — The two-year-old girl who was allegedly killed by her caretaker in Quezon City has been laid to rest as the suspect remains in detention on charges of murder and child abuse.
According to a report by ABS-CBN News, the child’s mother, Risma Sarahanga, arrived in the country on Saturday afternoon from Libya where she has been working.
Reports said Sarahanga claimed her daughter’s remains from the hospital and proceeded with the funeral rites.
The child’s caretaker, Rowena Daud, 37, was detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).
A report from the QCPD Station 14 said the incident happened at Daud’s house in Barangay Culiat on Thursday.
Police said Daud admitted to slamming the child’s head against a wall in a fit of anger.
To conceal what she did, the suspect brought the girl to the New Era Hospital and told doctors that she suffered injuries from a fall.
Police officers who went to the hospital became suspicious after they noticed the child bore bruises in different parts of the body.
During police interrogation, Daud admitted that she had been hurting the child due to stress.
The suspect has been taking care of the child and the victim’s eight-month-old sibling aside from her own three children.