Headless body of Sulu kidnap victim found

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The headless body of a 28-year-old Sulu resident, who was abducted together with his mother by suspected Abu Sayyaf men last month, was found dumped near a mosque in Jolo yesterday, the military said.

While the torso of Jeffrey Silbin was discovered near the mosque in Barangay Tulay, his head was found in the vicinity of the Sulu Provincial Hospital in Barangay Asturias, said Col. Mohammad Nur Askalani, spokesman and acting chief of staff of the Armed Forces Southern Command.

Askalani said Silbin’s mother, Jackylyn, 53, remains in the hands of the armed men who seized her and her son in Jolo last July 27. The Silbins ran a bakeshop and a pawnshop in the Sulu capital town.

Police said the kidnappers could have killed the young Silbin to intimidate his family into paying the P10-million ransom.

The Silbins’ kidnapping was the second to take place in Jolo this year. Early this year, the Abu Sayyaf seized drugstore owner Caridad Vergara and her son Beltran, who were both subsequently freed after their family allegedly paid P1.6-million ransom.