BACOLOD CITY , Philippines – Hatred of her sister apparently drove a 23-year-old woman to kill her five-year-old niece last Wednesday in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental, police said.
Pontevedra police chief Capt. Rhojn Darell Nigos said yesterday that the body of the victim, whose identity was withheld, was found in a creek in Barangay Miranda, Pontevedra, several hours after she was reported missing.
Nigos said investigators said the victim was strangled and drowned by the suspect, who turned out to be the girl’s aunt.
The suspect, whose identity is also being withheld, is the younger sister of the victim’s mother.
Police said the suspect admitted killing the victim after her arrest at her elder sister’s house.
Nigos said in an attempt to mislead police probers, the suspect tried to make it appear that the girl was sexually molested and killed.
He said this only proves that the suspect is not suffering from mental illness.
Investigation indicated that the suspect might have wanted to get back at her older sister, who frequently scolded her and even blamed her for the mistakes of her niece.
Nigos said that investigators would file murder charges against the suspect, who is detained in the municipal jail.