THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 will look into the death of a nine-year-old boy in Badian town, Cebu, after an autopsy showed the possibility of foul play.

The boy, Def Leppard Siclajon, was found to have a wound on his neck and dislocated vertebrae in the autopsy made Thursday on request of the boy’s father, Nerie Boy Agravante.

Agravante didn’t believe early reports that raised the possibility of suicide or of the boy accidentally strangling himself while playing near a hammock. He didn’t believe a nine-year-old would commit suicide and in that fashion. As to the possibility that it was an accident, he asked why his son’s uncle didn’t watch the boy. He said the uncle never properly took care of his child.

The boy was found dead on June 7, 2019 with his neck tangled in his uncle’s hammock. Agravante asked for an auptosy and an investigation.

Dr. Rene Cam of the NBI 7 conducted the autopsy and later said he was surprised to find a scratch on the neck of the boy, near the chin. He also found the boy’s first cervical vertebrae dislocated, which was possible only through “hyperextension of the neck.”

Cam said the boy’s first cervical vertebrae was dislocated which can only be due to hyperextension of the neck either backwards or sidewards. It’s possible that an external force caused the dislocation, he added.

He said it was unlikely for the boy to have done it himself because it would hurt a lot to hyperextend your neck. “So you have to stop,” he said, adding that you would not be able to continue to break your neck.

However, Cam said, the autopsy results are not enough to show if the boy’s death was intentional or accidental.

Following the autopsy report, NBI 7 Director Tomas Enrile ordered for the investigation to proceed. He said the probe would have to be continued by both the NBI and the local police. (From AYB of SuperBalita Cebu)