Housewife arrested for killing 8-year-old girl

An eight-year-old girl abducted by a drug addict couple in Pasig City last Jan. 21 was found dead Thursday in a creek in Taytay town in Rizal.

Joint elements of the Pasig City and Taytay police have arrested Evelyn Amapa, 41, in her house in Taytay.

Witnesses identified Amapa and her husband, Ellie, as the abductors of Maricris Labarientos. The husband is now being hunted.

Labarientos’ decomposing body was found in a creek in Chilern Subdivision. She has strangulation marks in her neck and her body had signs of torture.

Investigators said the girl was probably dead for several days. At about 9 a.m. Thursday, Rodel Mendoza was walking along the creek when he became suspicious of a foul smell. A brief search led to the girl’s body, which was in the water.

Police said Labarientos, a Grade 2 pupil at the San Miguel Elementary School, was walking along Bedana St., towards the house of her aunt when the Amapa couple grabbed her. The Amapa couple had previous records for illegal drug use.

The child’s mother, Mylene, 30, said the abductors did not demand any ransom. A witness came forward and told the police about the Amapa couple after learning about the girl’s death. — Non Alquitran