NBI autopsy report shows slain OFW in Kuwait sexually abused

MANILA, Philippines—An autopsy conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed that Jeanelyn Villavende, the Filipina domestic helper in Kuwait who was killed recently, could have been sexually abused.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra disclosed Sunday that the body of Villavende showed “clear indications of sexual abuse” based on the NBI autopsy.

“There were also old healed wounds indicating that Villavende had been battered weeks prior to the fateful incident,” Guevarra told reporters.

The Justice chief added that a formal report of the autopsy would be submitted to his office on Monday.

Following Villavende’s murder, the government imposed a partial deployment ban on workers to Kuwait.

Suspects in the killing of Villavende are now detained in Kuwait.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, meanwhile, has filed an administrative case against the agency that recruited Villavende, whose body arrived in the Philippines on Friday.

In 2018, the Philippines also ordered a ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait amid the string of reported abuses and deaths of Filipino workers, including Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found in a freezer in the country over a year after she was reported missing.