‘Rapist-killer’ of 10-year-old girl in Itogon arrested

ITOGON, Benguet – The alleged rapist and murderer of a 10-year-old girl whose remains was discovered inside a sack dumped in a 50-meter deep ravine at Skyline, Eastern Saddle here last week has been identified.
    During a follow-up operation by the Itogon Municipal Police Station, the suspect who was identified as Gilbert Salinas, 40, and a resident of Ampucao, Itogon, was taken into custody for questioning.
    The girl was reported missing on Feb. 4 after she was reported to have taken a bath in a communal bathroom.
    According to a police report, the victim was accompanied by her mother to the communal bathroom.
    When the mother returned to their bunkhouse, she noticed her daughter was not there so she went back to the communal bathroom where she located only her daughter's clothes.
    The mother then prompted her neighbors to help her look for her child and later reported the incident to the police.
    Concerned residents informed probers that they saw a man carrying a sack that was similar to the one used to conceal the victim's body.
    This gave the police a lead in the case.
    The suspect was also seen in available footages of closed-circuit television in the area.
    Benguet caretaker Rep. Eric Go Yap, meanwhile, pledged justice for the girl while condemning the rape and killing.
    Yap visited and handed financial assistance to the parents of the victim on Feb. 6.

Yap also paid funeral expenses of the victim.