Assailant tried to rape girl: police

THE killer of a graduating student whose body was found in the mountain village of Guimbangco-an in Sibonga attempted to rape her and shot her in the chest after she resisted.

This was the theory of Senior Insp. Reynaldo Geolin, the town police chief.

“Lalaki gyod ang mibuhat ani (The suspect is a male),” he said in a phone interview. “Ang akong analysis ani mao nga naay kaila, amigo. Gi- entice siya siguro, gi- invite og suroy-suroy. Gipaabot atong lugara. Basin nakahunahuna og di maayo (My analysis is that they’re friends. The guy invited her togo somewhere until they reached the area).”

Genevieve Jabello, 21, was identified by her father Joselito in a funeral parlor in Carcar City yesterday dawn.

The victim’s father was informed by her boy- friend.

The victim was a scholar, taking up Animal Science at the Cebu Technological UniversityArgao Campus. She lived in a boarding house with a friend in the compound of the school.

Joselito described his daughter as disciplined.

Geolin said the culprit possibly got mad at Jabello when she resisted.

Fight back

“Nipalag guro siya. Nadapatan ang babaye. Unya misukol ang biktima, mao tong nahinaykan (The victim might have fought back),” he said.

A resident of Consolacion, Jabello was reportedly endorsed to the state university by Consolacion Mayor Teresita Alegado.

Geolin said they believed the rape was not consummated because she still had her jeans and shoes on.

Investigators ruled out robbery as the motive behind the murder because the victim’s coin purse containing more than P100, necklace and wristwatch were not stolen.

Geolin said they are coordinating with Argao Police Station and Argao’s local government, so they can check the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras to see if Jabello was with other people.

Walk

Around 5 p.m. last Sunday, a board mate saw the victim walk outside their rented pad. She was alone.

Three hours later, some motorcycle-for-hire drivers saw a sports utility vehicle (SUV) traveling in the village, which is two kilometers from Poblacion.

Some residents later heard two successive gunshots. The SUV left the area.

Felix Pellerin, a construction worker, found the victim lying in a grassy lot near the road last Monday morning.