‘Crazy’ man sought in girl’s slay

The police have started looking for a man who goes by the nickname “Baliw” (crazy) in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl in Bagumbong, Caloocan City.

Rebecca Galguerra’s naked body was found by her mother, Grace, at a vacant lot on Cypress Street, Rainbow Village in Barangay 171 on Sunday morning, a day after she went missing.

The vacant lot was where the suspect, Lino Albais, lived, according to case investigator SPO2 Allan Budios. He added that it was Albais, who earned the monicker because residents found him odd, who told Grace where her daughter’s body was before he escaped.

The victim’s head was wrapped in plastic while there were bruises and cuts on her body. The police, however, were still waiting for autopsy results to determine her cause of death and whether she was raped.

Budios said Galguerra frequented the vacant lot to pick mangoes. On Friday, a day before she went missing, the victim and her sibling were at the vacant lot when Albais grabbed her and touched her private parts. This prompted both children to run away.

The next day, the victim failed to come home. Grace recalled that she last saw her on Saturday morning at their house.

The next day, a neighbor told Grace to check the vacant lot on Cypress Street because Galguerra frequented the area.

Along the way, Grace said she saw Albais and asked him if he had seen her daughter. He replied that Galguerra was near some bushes in the vacant lot.

Budios said that investigators were looking for Albais since all the circumstantial evidence pointed to him as the perpetrator.