EXACTLY eight months ago, Ellah Joy Pique was abducted while walking home from the Calaojan Elementary School in Minglanilla town.
Her body was found the next day wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a plastic bag at the bottom of a cliff in Barili town.
The cause of death was “blunt force trauma” on the child’s head. She was believed killed before her body was tossed down the ravine.
But yesterday’s memorial mass for the little girl was also offered with happiness by her parents and kinfolk, who celebrated the arrest of the crime’s main suspect, Bella Ruby Santos.
Ellah Joy’s father Renante and mother Ligaya were present during the 5 p.m. mass celebrated by Msgr. Eliseo Gamallo at the Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church in Pardo, Cebu City.
Ellah Joy’s seven-year-old brother and grandmother were also there.
The family later walked to the nearby Pardo Cemetery, offered roses and lit candles in front of the girl’s grave.
“Nag-ampo ko nga molutaw ang kamatuoran. (I’m praying for the truth to come out),” said Renante.
He said he was “100 percent” sure Santos was the perpetrator based on accounts of witnesses and her escape.
“Her being a fugitive proved that she is guilty,” Renante said.
His wife Ligaya, who usually declined media interviews, was elated with the recent development s.
“Hapit na gyud makab-ot ang hustisya. (Justice is almost served),” Ligaya said./Reporter ADOR VINCENT S. MAYOL