It was a viral news story that gripped the entire nation. Last March 12, the authorities discovered the corpse of 16 year old Christine Lee Silawan in a vacant lot in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu, City Cebu.

Her undergarments were missing.

She had around thirty stab wounds.

Half of her face has been skinned. Her trachea, tongue, esophagus and right ear were nowhere to be found as well.

The crime is still unsolved. But for now, Christine has been laid to rest in Cordova, Cebu, with the entire community in strong solidarity with the family.

In a bitter twist of fate, on the day of Christine’s burial, the primary suspect in the crime — her 17 year old ex boyfriend — has been released because his arrest does not meet the criteria of a warrantless arrest or a hot pursuit operation. The suspect will be returned to his family, in the meantime, and will undergo regular preliminary investigation.

Christine’s family is overwhelmed from all the grief and couldn’t process the development of the suspect’s release. The Public Attorney’s Office will be their counsel and they will seek a reversal of this release by submitting a forensic re-autopsy report.

There is a P1 million bounty for anyone who can help solve the murder.

[Entry 277, The SubSelfie Blog]

About the Author:

Bam Alegre is the founder of SubSelfie.com and writes from time to time as a guest contributor. He is a Senior News Correspondent for GMA News (2012) and part of the team that won GMA News the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for the news coverage of super typhoon Yolanda (2013). Previously, he worked behind the scenes as a Segment Producer for State of the Nation with Jessica Soho and 24 Oras (2009-2012). BA Broadcast Communication 2007, UP Diliman. Read more of his articles here.