Dehydration killed two boys found in car – cops

MANILA, Philippines - The two boys whose decomposing bodies were found Tuesday in a Mercedes Benz parked at a used car lot in Barangay Wawa, Taguig City  possibly died from dehydration and may have accidentally locked  themselves inside the car, police said yesterday.

“Initial findings disclosed that the kids could have died due to severe dehydration and may have been child-locked inside,” said Southern Police District director Senior Superintendent Jose Erwin Villacorte.

Villacorte said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted an autopsy on three-year-old Dayne Buenaflor and James Naraga, 4, who were found lifeless on the backseat of a heavily tinted black 190 E Mercedes Benz (UGX-606) parked at a fenced lot owned by Leonardo Valenzuela along Dama de Noche street.

According to Villacorte, Scene of the Crime Operatives will take at least one week to finish the investigation.

Buenaflor is a nephew of Barangay Wawa chairman Phillip Buenaflor.

Police said the victims were discovered by three boys who were asked by Butch Valenzuela, the lot owner’s brother, to clean the parking lot. The Benz is owned by Butch, police said.

Foul smell

Taguig City police chief Senior Superintendent Arthur Felix Asis told reporters yesterday that the bodies were found after the boys asked to clean the lot smelled foul odor from one of the cars.

They approached the Benz and slightly opened its driver’s door.

The boys then informed Butch who opened the rear doors. One of the victims was seated “Indian style” while the other was on a prone position on the car’s backseat.

Asis said that shortly after Buenaflor and Naraga went missing while playing near the barangay hall of Wawa at around 10 a.m. on March 27, their parents looked for them at the lot but did not find them.

He said it’s possible that the boys were playing when they accidentally locked themselves in the car and failed to get out. But the case will still be investigated, Asis said.

Asis said their initial investigation showed that the victims bore no signs of struggle or torture.

The boys were identified by their parents through the clothes they were wearing, police said.

“Although the SOCO has yet to submit its report, it is very probable that dehydration caused the death of the boys. March and April are the hottest months during summer,” Asis added.

Damaged locks

Asis said Butch, a businessman, told probers that the locks of the Benz malfunctioned after it was damaged by flood during typhoon “Ondoy.”

Butch decided to have the lot cleaned on Tuesday as he was planning to repair the Benz.

“It appears na naka-child lock yung sasakyan,” said Asis.

Although the parking area was padlocked, Asis said children enter the lot by climbing the fence and use it as their playground. The lot is near the barangay hall of Wawa.

He said even if the boys had screamed from inside the car, they could not be heard outside.

“Based on circumstances, it appears that it is a freak accident. The parking area is padlocked purposely to keep the children out,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Taguig City government offered to shoulder the burial and funeral expenses of the two boys.

Parallel probe

The NBI is conducting a parallel investigation into the death of Buenaflor and Naraga.

Ferdinand Lavin, head of the NBI Death Investigation Division, has formed a team to gather evidence that could point to the victims’ cause of death.

The team went to the Loreto Funeral Homes Tuesday night after the boys’ parents filed a complaint with the NBI, asking the agency to probe their sons’ death.– With Aie Balagtas See