CEBU CITY – Residents in a barangay in Lapu-Lapu City woke up to a gruesome discovery after the body of a girl was found with a flayed face.
Police identified the fatality as Christine Silawan, who was found with no undergarments and her face skinned to the bone.
“She was brutally killed,” said Senior Supt. Lemuel Obon, chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office.
The body was found early morning in a vacant lot in Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu.
The girl went missing overnight.
“She was a church collector. She asked permission from her mother yesterday (Sunday) that she would go to church but she was not able to go home since then,” said Obon.
The victim was identified by her mother through the shirt she was wearing.
Obon said the body was found by some residents who happened to pass by the area.
Obon said the body will be examined to find out if the girl was raped.
The police official added that police are now looking for three men who could be behind the gruesome killing.
“We have witnesses who said that the girl was last seen alive with three men. We are tracing their identities,” said Obon.
With the way the victim was killed, it was possible that the culprits were high on illegal drugs, Obon said. (Calvin Cordova)