Saleslady autopsied after being found dead in rented room

AN AUTOPSY has already been conducted on the remains of 27-year-old saleslady Charina Relativo, who was discovered dead inside their rented room on Friday, August 2, 2024, in Sitio Laguna, Barangay Bulacao, Cebu City.

Police Major Jiceree Basitao, the chief of the Inayawan Police Station, said that they are just awaiting the autopsy results to determine the reason behind her demise.

She added that they could not also verify reports that initially surfaced on social media that the girl had been raped before being killed.

According to Basitao,the culprit has not yet been identified.

However, a certain Dodong and his friend Darren Cui have been invited for questioning at the Inayawan Police Station, but only the former showed up as the latter reportedly left on board a Nmax motorcycle together with his 3-year-old child as stated by his neighbor.

"Naa man guy migawas sa social media nga naa nay mga suspect, naa napoy result ang autopsy base sa social media. I just want to clarify nga katong mga na post sa social media dili pato confirmed so nag paabot pa ta sa autopsy report and wala pa sad tay na identify nga suspect as of now," Basitao said.

(There have been reports on social media that a suspect has already been identified and that the autopsy result has also been made public. I just want to clarify that the information shared on social media has not yet been verified, therefore, we are currently awaiting the autopsy report and have not yet identified the suspect).

Darren Cui's name gained widespread attention on social media after he was accused as the culprit.

But the victim’s live-in partner Jungie Enriquez has already provided a sworn statement outlining everything that transpired, including the moment he contacted his girlfriend and the moment he asked Cui to follow up with her after she didn't pick up his call.

During police interrogation, Dodong said that prior to the incident, Darren visited him in his home around 8 a.m. and invited him for a drink because he had a problem.

However, Darren only drank one glass of beer and went back to his home, which is located next to the victim's room, and then returned again at 11 a.m. asking him to come to his boarding house, where they would continue drinking to which he agreed.

He said that Darren took a photo of him and the door of the victim's room upon entering the gate but he did not mind it.

After a short while, Jungie contacted Darren's phone to inquire about his live-in girlfriend, who was supposed to report for work at a mall in Ayala Center Cebu at noon, but Darren asked Dodong to take his call instead.

Jungie and Relativo were workmates.

"Pag-abot namo sa gate iya dayon gi-picturan ang kwarto ni Charina ngano’ng able daw ang gate ug pag-abot namo didto nanawag na si Jungie unya ako iyang gipatubag. Ana si Jungie nga ipatuktok ang kwarto sa iyang uyab," alias Dodong said.

(When we arrived at the gate, he started taking pictures of Charina's room and inquired why it was open. And when Jungie called, he requested me to answer. Jungie instructed me to knock on his girlfriend's room’s door).

Dodong said that he, Darren and Jungie became friends because of basketball.

Dodong claimed that after calling out to Charina and getting no response, he checked to see if the door was open and discovered her body, which he believed to be a mannequin.

"Akung gisangpit nya wala may mitingog nya abli man ang pultahan. Ako giingnan nga ate Cahrina nya wala man gyuy mitingog, ana ko abli man inyo’ng pultahan Jie ana siya iduot ang pultahan nakit-an nako una ang kamot ingun ko naa man lagi moy mannequin diri Jie mao to ako giablehan og daku ang pultahan didto na nako nakita, nisyagit dayon ko didto sa gawas,” according to alias Dodong.

(I called her but nobody answered and the door was open. I said, "Ate Charina" and still nobody responded. And then I told Jungie over the phone your door was open and he said push it. It was then that I saw a hand and asked Jungie, “Do you have a mannequin?"; when the door was completely opened, I screamed outside).

Letecia Relativo, the mother of the victim, stated in an interview with DyHP AM radio that her daughter's body had multiple bruises on both arms, including her neck, which she thought had been strangled until the she passed away.

She believed that her daughter fought back, but the perpetrator overpowered her.

"Daghan kaayo siyag bun-og sir, kanang duha niya ka bukton pulos na nanglagom murag misukol gyud na siya ba, unya kanang sa liog niya gituok gyud na siya hangtod nga nubugto ang iyang kinabuhi," according to Letecia.

(She had a lot of bruises on both arms, suggesting that she may have resisted, and her neck was actually strangled until she passed away).

The doctor who performed an autopsy on Charina revealed that the victim’s genitalia had been touched, suggesting that she had perhaps been raped.

As a result, the parents are now demanding justice for their daughter's death, and she wants the offender to die as well.

“She was brutally murdered, sir. It's hard to accept," Letecia remarked in Cebuano. (AYB, TPT)