8-year-old girl found dead in Davao de Oro

DAVAO CITY: Police arrested a 59-year-old man whom the authorities considered as the primary suspect in the death of an 8-year-old girl whose body was found in a banana plantation at Purok Kape 2, Barangay Magcong, Maragusan, Davao de Oro on Monday afternoon, February 26.

The Maragusan Police arrested Cristobal Traña, 59 years old, a resident of the victim’s neighboring village who is considered a suspect as he was last seen walking with the victim.

The victim was discovered by the responding police officers with her lower garment partially pulled down.

Authorities have recovered a rock suspected to have been used in the killing.

Also seized in the crime scene were a cigarette, two strands of pubic hair, a cellular phone charger, pair of slippers, and a flashlight charger believed to be owned by the suspect.

The investigation revealed that at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 25, the victim’s mother reported to the police that she had been with her child in their home. However, the girl left without the mother’s knowledge and never returned home.

Her family searched for her late Sunday night when she failed to go home. She was then found dead at around 12 noon the following day.

The evidence recovered from the crime scene has been submitted to Regional Forensic Unit 11 for DNA examination.

Traña, in a media interview, denied the allegations hurled against him, saying he has no knowledge about the incident.

Based on the testimonies of the witnesses, they saw Traña together with the victim before the latter went missing.