CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Sta. Cruz, Laguna–Police believed that the remains found buried in a private yard in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna, on Sunday was that of a girl who went missing four years ago.
Supt. Ismael Fernandez, city police chief, in a phone interview on Monday, said authorities on Sunday morning exhumed the skeletal remains believed to be of murder victim Mary Joy Umali, from the yard of suspect Limuel Completo of Barangay Dita.
The victim’s family, in their statement to police, said Umali, who was 14 years old then, stowed away after being scolded and was never heard of since.
“They never thought she was already dead, until yesterday,” Fernandez said.
Umali lived in the same village but police could not yet establish her relationship with the suspect.
Authorities learned about the buried body after Completo’s sister, Mercedes, sought help from the police on Sunday.
“The suspect confided to his mother that he killed (Umali) and buried her body in their yard. The mother then told the sister, who decided to report it to the police,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez, however, would not say yet when the disclosure was made as they continued investigating some “vague” statements from Completo’s family. He said the suspect had already gone into hiding.
Police’s initial findings showed Umali was killed sometime in May 2007, although the investigation remained “inconclusive” until the Scene of the Crime Operatives releases an official report.