Heartbroken parents say last farewell to tragic Jastine
JASTINE Valdez is to be laid to rest in her native Philippines today, six weeks after she was abducted and murdered in Co. Wicklow.
She will be buried in her hometown of Aritao, three days after she would have celebrated her 25th birthday.
Jastine’s body arrived in the Philippines over four weeks ago, but her burial has been delayed due to the traditional Filipino belief that the soul remains inside the person’s body until 40 days after death.
Her remains have since been lying in repose in her grandmother’s house, allowing her parents, Danilo and Teresita, and their family to spend time with her before the burial.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail yesterday, the Honorary Consul of the Philippines in Ireland, Mark Christopher Congdon, said Jastine’s parents are heartbroken as they try to come to terms with the death of their only child.
‘It’s very, very tough, obviously. It’s more traumatic coming up to the funeral,’ he said.
Mr Congdon, who is in regular contact with the family, said that they have expressed their gratitude towards the Irish people for the continuous support they have shown over the past few weeks.
It is believed that her parents are planning to return here next year.
A Mass was held in Dublin last Thursday to mark the 40th day since Jastine’s death. Mr Congdon said the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation offered its HQ at the former Rutland Hospital as the location for the service, due to the large number of people from the Filipino community working in the health service.
Jastine was abducted near her home in Enniskerry on May 19 by her killer, Mark Hennessy. This led to a major search, as gardaí hunted down Hennessy’s car in a desperate bid to locate Jastine.
Gardaí found Hennessy the following evening outside the Dell complex at Cherrywood Business Park in south Dublin, where he was shot dead by a detective.
Jastine’s body was discovered the next day in the Puck’s Castle area of the Dublin Mountains.
A post-mortem revealed she had been strangled less than an hour after her abduction.
‘It’s very, very tough’