The Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) would file a murder case against a couple in Baguio who claimed their 7-year-old nephew committed suicide last May 30 after an autopsy showed the boy died of asphyxia due to strangulation.
Police chief Colonel Allen Rae Co said that they would file a case against boy’s aunt Lolly Ann Dalipog and her husband, Efren Dalipon. The victim’s mother was an overseas worker in Hongkong and the sister of Lolly Ann.
Lolly Ann would also face complaints for transporting the victim’s body without permission, which is a violation of Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.
Police reports said Lolly Ann went out of their apartment in Barangay Ambiong to buy rice at around 3 pm. When she returned, she allegedly saw her nephew kneeling on the floor. The boy was already unconscious and had a scarf tied on his neck.
They rushed the victim to the hospital, but he died the following day.
The BCPO chief said the found the suspect’s statement on the incident suspicious because it would be hard for someone to die by hanging in kneeling position. The doctor who examined the boy also revealed the victim has abrasions and bruises on his thighs, buttocks, and back.
Co added that the suspects also did not want the boy to undergo an autopsy due to religious and cultural beliefs. Co, however, insisted that the autopsy is required to eliminate the possibility of foul play.
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Couple claims nephew committed suicide, police to file murder case
However, on June 1, Lolly Ann, with two other men, transported the remains of the victim to Banaue, Ifugao. Baguio police informed the authorities along the Ambuklao route and stopped the suspect’s vehicle.
“Due to humanitarian consideration, they were allowed to pass the checkpoint. But before Mrs Dalipog and company left, they executed an undertaking to allow the conduct of autopsy,” the BCPO statement said.
“This undertaking, however, was just a trick to deceive the police officers because they later refused to honor said undertaking and insisted to bury the victim on June 4, 2020. This prompted this Office to immediately seek the intervention of the Prosecutor’s Office of Baguio City and Ifugao Province,” the statement added.
Further investigations also revealed that neighbors heard a commotion and a child crying at 5 pm on the day of the victim died. The witnesses also said no one went outside the apartment at 3 pm. They also said after the crying stopped, Lolly Ann began asking for help, saying her nephew committed suicide.