Cops probe Laguna teen’s death amid rape allegations

SAN PEDRO CITY — Police are investigating the death of a 17-year-old female student in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna province after allegations surfaced that she had also been raped.

What was initially reported as a case of suicide turned differently for police investigators after some close friends and relatives sought authorities’ help for an autopsy.

Statements gathered by the police showed that the victim was sexually abused by her father and her mother’s inaction drove her to commit suicide, said city police chief Supt. Eugene Orate, Saturday.

“A problem right now is that the parents are refusing an autopsy (on the body). Through an autopsy, we could find out if it were a suicide or if she were killed,” Orate said in a phone interview.

According to the police initial report, the Sta. Rosa City Rescue Team responded to Barangay (village) Caingin on January 2 after getting a report that the victim committed suicide.

Orate said they gathered statements that the victim had long been telling her friends about the abuse.

Photos of the victim’s friends as they held a candle-lighting and carried placards calling for the authorities to take custody of the victims’ siblings went viral on social media.