Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of rape and violence against children. Reader discretion is advised.
Authorities from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) arrested a 13-year-old boy allegedly involved in the death of an eight-year-old girl, who was found in a vacant lot in Barangay Santa Lucia, Novaliches.
Initial reports said the children were neighbors, based on a close circuit television footage (CCTV) as verified by local village officials. The boy is now treated as a child in conflict with the law (CICL).
He was placed under the custody of the QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit for further questioning amid ongoing investigation, according to QCPD officer-in-charge and Deputy District Director for Administration Col. Randy Glenn Silvio.
Investigators from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) conducted swab tests and collected fingernail cuttings for forensic examination to establish the identity of the suspect.
Police surmised that the victim was raped before she was killed. Her body also exhibited signs of strangulation, according to the initial probe. She was last seen playing near her residence on August 2, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.
Her parents briefly left to buy food, and upon returning later that evening, they noticed that the child had not yet returned home. At 5:30 p.m. the next day, her naked body was discovered in a fenced vacant lot. Pieces of clothing and a knife were also found at the site.
The Fairview police checked CCTV footage within the area, and saw the victim with the boy.
According to Fairview Police station commander Col. Geronimo Dimayuga Jr., the boy admitted that he strangled the girl until she fell unconscious.
“After strangling the victim, that’s when he forced himself on her,” village official Ruel Marpa said.
In a Facebook post, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the city government along with the Schools Division Office will continue to conduct psychological debriefing to the victims’ classmates.
