Family, netizens call for justice for slain student

ANGELES CITY -- Some users of social networking site Facebook joined the family, classmates and friends of Dannielle Huet Conde in calling on authorities to apprehend the lone suspect and resolve her killing immediately.

Conde, an Engineering student of the Holy Angel University (HAU), was stabbed to death inside her apartment in Barangay Santo Cristo in this city on Saturday.

The Facebook page “Justice For Dannielle Huet "Danni" Conde,” which has more than 10,000 Likes as of this posting Tuesday, was set up by the victim’s classmates to gather online support for the fast resolution of the case.

“I do hope for a faster investigation about [the killing of] this very young lady,” Park Young Yohan posted on the page.

“We are asking the witnesses to cooperate with us, and please don’t be afraid for your security. Danni need us and [we need] to prevent this kind of crime leading to more inhumane, injustices in the future…,” another post on the page stated.

Robert Tantingco, HAU vice president for External Affairs, said the school administration is also monitoring the investigation of the case.

“We pray that the assailant is brought to justice at the soonest possible time,” the school administration said.

Conde’s friends also posted messages and photos of the victim when she was joining beauty tilts, among other tributes, to sympathize to the victim’s family.

Conde was crowned Miss Engineering and Architecture and hailed as Miss Persona 2012. She was also an active varsity player for the Taekwondo team of HAU.

Classmates and friends of Conde who attended a Eucharistic mass at HAU urged the authorities in Angeles City to institute safety measures to prevent such incidents from happening, especially in boarding houses in the city.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan has urged the City Council to pass a resolution requesting owners of apartments and boarding houses to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Pamintuan also directed Senior Superintendent Jun Hidalgo to intensify police visibility, particularly in tourist belts to ensure the safety of students.

The police produced a computerized facial illustration of the suspect that was also shown to the city mayor on Tuesday.

Police said the suspect planned to rob Conde, who put up a fight as evidenced by signs of struggle.

After stabbing the victim, witnesses said the suspect boarded a red mountain bike with yellow orange rim and sped off toward Espeleta St. in Barangay Lourdes Sur East, straight to the old PNR railway.

The stolen items placed inside a bag, believed to be left by the suspect while he was fleeing, were recovered inside the victim’s room.

Conde was immediately taken to the Angeles University Foundation Medical Center by neighbors who heard her cry for help. She reportedly died two hours later.

In 2009, Keith Valerio Ballesteros, 16, a former nursing student of Angeles University Foundation, was also stabbed to death in her boarding house in Barangay Salapungan also in this city. The suspects are still at large. (Reynaldo G. Navales and Ian Ocampo Flora of Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)