2 boys found dead - Cebu Circle | Cebu City, Philippines

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

2 boys found dead

10/31/2010 - Little did the boys know their trip to a hilly sitio would lead to their death. They were allegedly mistaken for thieves and shot dead in Barangay Cubacub, Mandaue City last Thursday.

Their cold bodies were discovered lying in a field on Friday night, near the fence of a farm that allegedly belongs to a former elective official. Whoever left the boys there covered them with leaves.


A team from the Mandaue City Police Office arrested farm workers Lucas Taoy, 35, and Jason Laurente, 18, early yesterday morning.


Taoy said he didn’t harm the boys. He said he saw them entering the farm last Thursday afternoon and ordered them to leave.


“Pero nisukol man na sila. Nanghana pa sa ilang gidala nga martilyo (They fought back. They threatened to throw a hammer at me),” Taoy added. Taoy has worked in the farm for 14 years, but hails from Barangay Lanitga in Carmen, a northern Cebu town.


Police said they recovered from the suspects one .22 Beretta pistol with a loaded magazine and a Magnum revolver loaded with six bullets.


Police also found a mobile phone, which one of the suspects allegedly used to text someone that they were still trying to figure out what to do.


“Bhe, nag-hunahuna pa mi’g katarungan unsaon pag-ingon ani (Bhe, we are still thinking of how to explain this),” was the alleged message.


The boys’ parents requested the search.


There were four boys who planned to go uphill to look for spiders. One stayed behind because he wanted to play a computer game. Rain stopped the other from going.


According to Insp. Ramil Morpos, of Mandaue’s Investigation and Detective Management Bureau, the suspects were “pretending they have no knowledge” when first asked about the bodies.


Morpos said the police interrogated the suspects and later found out about their firearms.


Both were reportedly issued guns after some farm animals went missing.


Four witnesses saw the boys enter the compound, then heard gunfire shortly thereafter, the police said.


Ayeth Acuesta Icasiam, a sister of Algy, went to the Canduman Police Station last Thursday afternoon to report her brother was missing. Her mother, Mary Acuesta, went to radio station DyHP to ask for help regarding her child’s whereabouts.


The following day, Emma Soco, mother of Ellarry Villarin, asked for help from Councilman Sergio Gogo of Barangay Cubacub, regarding her missing son.


One of the two children who was supposed to join the trip then told the parents about their plan to hunt for spiders.


Laurente told a different story.


He said he began a search after he noticed that part of the fence had been ripped off.


“Didto ko sa ubos sa farm ato nag-tan-aw. Mao na lay pagkadungog nako ato nga nag-butobuto na (I was searching in the lower level of the farm. Then, I heard gunfire),” Laurente said.


He claimed he saw Taoy shoot the boys.


“Wala gyud ko’y labot ani. Wa ko namusil sa mga bata (I have no involvement in this. I did not shoot the kids),” Laurente said.


Inspector Morpos said both men will be subjected to paraffin tests, which reveal traces of gunpowder on the hands of those who have recently fired a gun.


Some of the boys’ wounds showed tattooing, which suggests they were shot at close range. Their faces were scratched.


Some police investigators theorized the boys were running away when they were first shot.


Police have yet to confirm the farm owner’s identity, after initial reports he is a former elective official.


Sun.Star Cebu tried to contact the farm owner but failed.


One of his employees, who refused to be named, confirmed the man owns a farm in Mandaue City, where he sometimes spends the night.


Police also found out that one of the firearms confiscated was unlicensed, while the other’s license was expired.


“Grabe gyud ang gibuhat nila. Daghan kaayo ug bun-og si Algy (What they did was heinous. My son has so many bruises),” said Mary, Algy’s mother. “Dili na maila iyang nawong. Gipasu-pasuan pa. Salbahis kaayo ang naghimo. Sobra pa sa mananap (He’s almost unrecognizable. There were burn marks on him. The people who did this are worse than animals) (Sun Star)

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