Boy, 3,found dead in Mandaue

A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy was found dead on a grassy lot at the back of an amusement park in Mandaue City yesterday afternoon.

Two male workers of the St. James Amusement Park discovered the body around 3:30 p.m. while they were cleaning a drainage canal.

The boy was lying on his back and naked, said PO2 Victor Atto Jr. of the Homicide Section of the Mandaue City Police Office.

With only minor cuts and bruises, there were no clear signs that the boy suffered physical violence, Atto said. But he also said only an adult could have brought the boy to the area where the grasses are tall and dense.

The area is 30 to 40 meters away from the road where the boy’s family lives.

The boy is a son of a rape suspect who was arrested last Dec. 26, Atto said.

According to the boy’s mother, she had not seen the boy since she arrived home Thursday night after visiting her husband at the Mandaue City Jail. They live in a makeshift house on F.F Cruz St. in the Mandaue Reclamation Area.

She searched for the boy yesterday morning until his body was discovered outside the amusement park.

Personnel from Scene of the Crime Operatives (Soco) arrived in the area around 5 p.m.

The body was brought to the Rolling Hills Funeral Parlor around 6 p.m. for an autopsy.

Atto said the boy’s father was arrested for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl.

The police are investigating whether the death was related to the rape case.