Ricky Castillano. (Photo courtesy of the Valenzuela City Police)
Authorities have arrested on Thursday night the uncle of the 11-year-old girl, who was earlier found dead in her room in their Valenzuela City house.
Police arrested 47-year-old Ricky Castillano around 8 p.m. at Danding Building along CJ Santos Street, Barangay Maysan, where he was employed as maintenance worker.
Case investigator PO3 Robin Santos said Castillano admitted to killing his niece. He allegedly slit his niece’s throat using a kitchen knife, and then escaped to Danding Building. The suspect claimed that he got furious that his niece would not get up after he attempted to waken her.
Police investigation showed that the girl was discovered by her nine-year-old brother lying in a pool of blood on the bedroom floor in their home located along Makipot Road, Libis Bukid, Barangay Malinta, around Thursday noon.
The girl was reportedly half naked and believed to have been raped by the perpetrator.
But Castillano denied raping his niece and claimed that he had only pulled down her underwear after she would not get up from bed, according to police.
The suspect is currently detained at the Valenzuela City Jail. He will be facing murder and rape charges in relation to Republic Act No. 7610, or the Anti-Child Abuse Act.
The girl’s father, Ireneo Oliveros, who works as an Uber driver, told police that he and his estranged wife had entrusted their four children to the Castillanos since they split seven years ago.
Oliveros said he did not think Castillano had abused the children before the incident, though he admitted that the suspect was prone to fits of rage after he survived a recent stroke. Krixia Subingsubing /kga