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[av_heading heading=’ Suspects in killing Sara girl charged’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RUBY SILUBRICO
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Sunday, June 25, 2017
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ILOILO – Rape with homicide charges have been filed against two suspects in the death of a 7-year-old girl in Sara town.
Charged before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office were Jude Michael Machinal, 18, of Barangay Aldeguer, Sara and Jay-R Posadas, 19, of Barangay Dugman, San Dionisio.
They were accused of sexually assaulting and killing Riza Mae Mercader.
The girl’s body was found at the public plaza of Sara last Wednesday.
While the rape was “not consummated,” evidence suggested that the suspects sexually molested the girl, a resident of Barangay Aspera, Sara, stressed Chief Inspector Ronnie Brillo, municipal police chief.
A postmortem examination performed by Dr. Owen Lebaquin, medico-legal officer of the Police Regional Office 6, showed there was no penetration, but bruises were found near the victim’s sex organ, Brillo said.
This suggested that the suspects touched the girl’s private parts, said the police officer.
Mercader also sustained head injuries — proof that she was struck with a hard object — and was choked to death. She was also naked when found, said Brillo.
“The suspects may have feared somebody would see what they were doing to the girl so they killed her,” the police officer said.
Brillo said the suspects may have been under the influence of illegal drugs at the time, too.
Posadas was a known user and dealer of prohibited drugs in San Dionisio, he claimed.
The body of the Grade 3 Ilaya Elementary School pupil was found around 1 a.m. last Wednesday.
According to two witnesses, a balut vendor and a minor, she was last seen alive with the suspects at around 10 p.m. last Tuesday, police said.
The girl’s parents worked at a peryahan in the town plaza.
She left to supposedly buy a bottle of soda but failed to come back.
Sara police filed the charges against Machinal and Posadas last Thursday.
No bail has been recommended for their temporary liberty.
Both suspects were currently detained at the Sara police station./PN
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