Brutal killing of coed shocks Bontoc folks

By Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province – The brutal death of a 22-year-old coed in this province’s capital town, has sparked concern among concerned residents who urged police to arrest the murderers sooner or more killings could follow.

A 15- year- old girl was also killed by another minor-suspect here in a coffee shop last July 20.   

Dawn of Tuesday, 2nd year Computer Technician student of Xijen Technological Institute Sarah Gemalyn Macholi Becyagen was found dead at a vacant lot near a kiosk fronting the Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School.

Becyagen sustained injuries at her right abdomen, swollen lips, hematoma and injuries on knees and legs, medical reports said, adding the victim died due to asphyxia by means of strangulation.

The victim was estimated to have died between 11 to 12 p.m. of Sept. 11.  Her cell phone was missing.  

Investigator SPO3 Romualdo Ngina of the provincial police investigation unit here said laboratory tests were sent to the crime laboratory to determine commission of rape. 

Police said the victim with two girlfriends left a liquor store around 8 p.m. night of Sept. 11. The victim  started for home alone by 11 p.m. to Barangay Samoki where she lived with her parents. She traces her roots from Otukan, Bauko in the province.

Investigation led by  Bontoc chief of  police Dyanne  Bangcawayan  and supported by  the province’s  police investigation unit  is ongoing to find out  identity of perpetrators.

Provincial police director Senior Supt. William Viteno said robbery may be the motive of the suspects in the killing since some of her personal belongings were missing.

Responding personnel from the Bontoc Police, Provincial Headquarters, Crime Laboratory, and the Bontoc Emergency Response Team led by Dr. Diga Kay Gomez “processed” the area where the victim was found.

They brought the body to Bontoc General Hospital where the remains were later identified as that if Becyagen's by her father Agustin Becyagen.

Investigators who talked with the victim’s cousin - Karen MachuliTicgangay - who was with the victim before the incident reportedly bared that victim was then wearing a black sling bag containing her Samsung cellular phone when they parted ways in front of the Land Bank branch about a hundred meters away from where the victim's body was found.

Businessman Jimmy Bangkili Saguid who parked his vehicle on the side of the road near where the body was found said that midnight of Monday, he noticed two males, both slim and wearing jogging pants with one among them wearing a black t-shirt and a hood covering his head, while the other was wearing a black t-shirt roaming around.

While initially looking at robbery, police is also not discounting other angles for the killing, added Viteno.

“We are conducting a deep investigation and searching for more witnesses,” the police official said.

Coming from a huge and prominent family, the victim's relatives urged police to solve the case.