Boy, 8, found dead in Baguio’s Burnham Park

BAGUIO CITY—An 8-year-old boy was found dead on Thursday near a parking area at Burnham Park, a popular tourist spot here. His head was battered.

Near his body was a blood-splattered rock that, forensic investigators believed, was used on the boy’s head.

Police detained a man, identified as Andy Mamalagyo, 26, who was earlier seen walking with the boy toward the park’s Athletic Bowl, apparently to play basketball, according to Supt. John Abellera, chief investigator at the Baguio police.

Students from a public high school near the park told police that they saw Mamalagyo striking something with a rock. They said the sight did not bother them, thinking the man was killing a rat.

Police said Mamalagyo’s shirt bore bloodstains, which were examined at the crime laboratory. —KIMBERLIE QUITASOL