ORMOC CITY-Joylen Digno, a resident of Barangay Canunghan in Tarangnan, Samar, was reported missing by her husband, Gilbert, to the police station on Friday (March 1).
Gilbert informed authorities that Joylen was last seen around 8 am on the same day.
Tragically, Joylen’s charred and dismembered body was discovered by a fisherman around 7:30 am on March 2(Saturday), placed inside a sack along the shoreline of Brgy. Canunghan.
The suspect in this gruesome crime was identified as Diego Lentejas, also a resident of the same village.
The police were alerted to the discovery of the body by village chairman Arsenio Tamor who reported the finding to the station past 4 pm on Friday.
Upon arriving at the scene, authorities found traces of blood and signs of a struggle several meters from the shore, suggesting that the crime began there.
According to Tamor, the area where the altercation took place was left in disarray and soaked with water, as Joylen had been carrying a gallon of water that spilled during the struggle.
Bloodstains were also found in the vicinity, believed to have come from Joylen’s body. After her death, she was taken to the coconut area by the shore and set on fire by the suspect.
However, Joylen’s body was not completely burned, prompting Lentejas to dismember her and dispose of the remains in the sea.
The sack containing her remains was discovered by a fisherman early in the morning on March 2.
Prior to this horrifying incident, suspicions were raised about Lentejas’ involvement when a wet cloth, suspected to be worn by the suspect, was found near the burned area.
The suspect had been involved in an altercation with a female neighbor earlier on Friday morning, which led to his apprehension in a neighboring barangay.
Lentejas, who is now detained at the locked-up cell of Tarangnan MPS, denies any involvement in Joylen’s murder.
However, the police are preparing charges of murder against him based on the evidence gathered at the scene. (ROBERT DEJON)
