Farmer identifies headless body

Alleged “chop-chop” victim Richelle Sagang: Hours before she was killed, she had her pictures taken (topmost). —Contributed photos

A farmer from Surigao del Norte has told the police that the headless body found in Bulacan and the head which turned up in a creek in Makati City two days later belonged to his 17-year-old daughter.

According to Noel Sagang, Richelle Sagang was a house helper at Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City, Makati police case investigator SPO2 Dominador Robles told the Inquirer on Monday.

The 54-year-old farmer was also able to pinpoint identifying marks on the victim’s body, including a mole on the arm, Robles said.

The black long-sleeved shirt and blue leggings found on the body also matched the clothes Richelle wore the last time she was seen alive.

The police, however, were still awaiting the results of a DNA test to confirm Noel’s claim, Robles added.

SPO3 Noel Pardiñas of the Makati police said the victim had been shot in the head. The body, on the other hand, bore bruises.

Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr., Southern Police District (SPD) director, said that there were at least seven people who came forward to identify the victim whose head and body were found 37 kilometers apart.

“We’ve ruled out some claimants based on the process of elimination. Like in one instance, they said their missing daughter had false teeth which [was] not the case,” Apolinario told reporters at the SPD headquarters in Taguig City.

He said that investigators were already pursuing a lead and building up a case against a person of interest. He did not go into details.

According to Apolinario, the victim was last seen at her place of work on Jan. 12. Around 11 p.m. that same day, a woman’s headless body was found by the side of the road in Barangay Casio, Sta. Maria town, Bulacan province.

Around 1 p.m. on Jan. 14, a woman’s head was found in Balisacan Creek located on Kalayaan corner Jervois Streets in Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Makati City.

Rodel Drece, an employee of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said he was surveying the creek for possible repair work on the retaining wall when he saw what he first thought was a mannequin’s head.

Makati investigators were coordinating with the Bulacan police to solve the case. They were also reviewing the footage taken by a closed-circuit television camera in Makati City to identify the people who threw the victim’s head into the creek.