Marianeth’s family allows autopsy ‘to end speculations’

DAVAO CITY – The remains of 12-year-old Marianeth Amper, who reportedly took her life last Nov. 2 due to extreme poverty, will be exhumed today after her parents signed the request for an autopsy yesterday afternoon.

“I signed the request for the autopsy to put a stop to all the speculations surrounding the death of my daughter,” Amper’s father Isabelo, 50, told The STAR two days  after his daughter was buried here at the Ma-a Public Cemetery.

The elder Amper and his wife Magdalena went to the Talomo police station yesterday afternoon to answer questions pertaining to the ongoing investigation on Marianeth’s death.

“I signed the request so that everybody would no longer have any doubts anymore. We have heard many stories about her death. So that it would all stop, I signed the request,” Amper said.

He said that at first he and his wife hesitated to grant the request for an autopsy so as not to disturb the already buried remains of their daughter.

“But we have no recourse but to give in to the autopsy so that all kinds of talks would be stopped and all we have to do now is wait for the results,” the elder Amper said.

Talomo police station commander Chief Superintendent Matthew Baccay said he was just waiting for the medico-legal officer and the personnel of the local Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) who will undertake the exhumation and the autopsy.

Baccay said all the required legal documents have already been complied with for the exhumation of Marianeth’s remains.

Marianeth was found dead hanging on a rope at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon of Nov. 2 inside the family residence at Yniguez Subdivision, Sitio Bugac, Barangay Ma-a.

She was reported to have taken her life due to extreme poverty, a theory supported by entries in her diary and an unsent letter to GMA 7’s “Wish Ko Lang” program.

However, it turned out that the letter to Wish Ko Lang and the diary were actually projects in her Pilipino class that were supposed to be submitted last Nov. 5. Marianeth was a Grade 6 pupil of the Ma-a Central Elementary School.

The wide media coverage on her death, zeroing in on the diary and the letter, paved the way for the outpouring of assistance and support to the family from several people and various groups all over the country.

But the elder Amper lamented that the lingering question on the death of his daughter prevented the family from moving on.

“We cannot move forward with our lives if every now and then we hear stories and people would come to us questioning how she died. Right now, we are still in mourning and we are beset with so many speculations that we cannot help but hear from everyone,” the father added.

Amper likewise said he would not witness the autopsy on his daughter as it would be very painful for him to see the actual examination of the remains.

Authorities here have been mulling an autopsy on the girl’s remains to get to the facts as foul play could also be possible.

Meanwhile, Penelope Magtabog, Amper’s teacher, said she is willing to help in the investigation into her student’s death.

“I would share based on my experience with her and what her classmates have narrated to me,” Magtabog said.