SANTIAGO CITY — Police arrested the suspect in the rape-slay of a 12-year-old girl on Sunday, Aug. 11, a day after her naked body was found at Palac Road in Barangay Buenavista in this city.
April May Nicolas, a third-grader at Buenavista Elementary School, was found dead around 1 p.m. on Aug. 10.
Police Colonel Lucio Simangan, Santiago City police director, reported that the girl could have been dead for 43 hours before her body, with a crushed head and missing undergarments, was discovered.
As a gesture of sympathy, teachers and students at the victim’s school flew the flag at half-staff, observed silence, and recited prayers during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony.
Nicolas and her 7-year-old sibling were under the care of their aunt.
The suspect, whose name is being withheld, was known to the aunt, as he frequently gathered clams near their house by the river.
Witnesses said the suspect used wood to crush the girl’s head after allegedly raping her.
He reportedly then used the wood to assault her further.
The suspect claimed he committed the crime because the girl had bullied him.
Investigators said the suspect would be charged with rape and homicide.
Simangan has ordered increased police visibility and continuous monitoring of the crime scene.
Earlier, City Councilor Arlene Jane Alvarez-Reyes offered a P100,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.
The girl’s father, Diosdado Nicolas, has called for “swift justice,” describing his daughter as “kind” and saying she “dreamed of becoming successful someday.” INQ