A SUSPECT, who allegedly raped and killed a 16-year-old girl, was arrested Saturday morning by members of the Talomo Police Station in Bago Gallera, Davao City.
The suspect was identified as James Barrete Narte, 35, a laborer, separated from his family and neighbor of the victim in Barangay Bago Gallera in Talomo District.
Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Senior Inspector Ma. Teresita Gaspan said the suspect was nabbed two hours after the cadaver of the victim was found on Libby Road.
“The testimonies of witnesses and physical evidence recovered from the crime scene led to the arrest of the suspect who is a resident of the same barangay,” Gaspan told the media.
Gaspan said the suspect was arrested at 12:10 a.m. Saturday in a manhunt operation conducted by members of the Talomo Police Station—where Narte is currently detained.
She said the suspect was endorsed to the station as well as the recovered towel at the crime scene owned by the suspect for proper disposition.
According to police, Gaspan said, the documents are being prepared for filing of appropriate charges against the suspect.
Initial investigation of the Talomo police showed that the office received information about a body of the victim found on Libby Road in Barangay Bago Gallera at around 10 p.m.
The Talomo police as well as the intelligence operatives of the station were dispatched to the area onboard a Toyota Innova Mobile Patrol driven for ocular investigation.
It was learned that the female victim was 16 years old, a junior high school student, resident of the same barangay.
According to reports obtained by the Talomo police, the victim was seen by her brother Orvin, 22, a construction worker, at 9:30 p.m. at the back of an abandoned house, wrapped in a blue plastic cellophane used in banana plants.
The victim was already lifeless when she was found by his brother. The latter was looking for his sister when she failed to come home after leaving their house to go to the store to buy cellular phone load.
After discovering the dead body of her sister, Orvin carried and transferred the body to another place near the road. The victim was also allegedly seen by her brother with her pants and underwear down to her knees.
The victim succumbed to wounds and contusions in different parts of her body particularly in the head, believed to be after being hit with a hard object.
The victim's body is at the Angel Funeral Parlor along F. Torres Street, Davao City.