Just this past May, another heartbreaking and heinous crime took place in the Mountain Province.
It was made all the more painful because the victim was a three-year-old child, but what was even more shocking and infuriating was that the accused and later confessed perpetrators were also two minor children.
How did it all lead to such a tragedy? This story will serve as a reminder to us that we must always watch over and guide our children.
This is Zephyra Thea.
She is a three-year-old child.
She is the youngest of two children of Faye and Clint, who live in Bontoc, Mountain Province.
When Thea first saw the light of the world, it was a strange joy.
She brought joy to her family, especially her mother.
She grew up to be a mischievous and cute child.
She was very happy and energetic.
Her mind was very innocent.
The only thing in her world was to play, eat, and live happily.
A child like her should be loved, protected, and given everything she could for her.
Fortunately, he still had many happy things to witness and a bright future to face.
He still had many dreams to achieve and opportunities to experience, but all of those suddenly disappeared.
Dreams that he would never be able to fulfill because at such a young age, he also could not escape the evil and cruelty of this world.
On May 15, Thea and her mother went on vacation to Barangay Banawel in Natonin town, Mountain Province, where her grandparents and other relatives live.
They had a great time during their visit.
They rarely saw Thea, but their joy was even greater when Thea’s mother decided to temporarily leave her daughter in the care of her grandparenTS.
She also had to return to work in another town to support her child’s needs.
Although it was difficult for her, Fe left after a few days to work.
Thea was left with her grandparents who took care of her with love.
In the early days, there must have been questions in the child’s young mind that she couldn’t understand why her grandparents left.
Thea’s mother is not by her side, when will she return? Questions that she may not be able to say but are there in her innocent mind, but she has no idea that they will never meet again like before.
The memories that were formed in just a short time will continue to haunt her mind and heart.
On May 23, 2026, there was a get-together in their barangay and Lola brought Thea.
While the adults were busy talking, Thea was happily playing with her fellow children.
At noon, Grandma fed her.
Then she played again with her friends.
This video was taken in the last momenTS. Thea was still happy at that time.
There were no threats, no problems, and no one thought that anything bad would happen to the child while Grandma was also busy socializing with neighbors and relatives.
The child was happily playing, but around three in the afternoon, Grandma noticed that Thea was no longer in her sight.
She immediately looked for her and asked people around her if anyone had seen her granddaughter, but no one could give a positive answer.
She began to worry and panic.
She continued to ask neighbors, acquaintances, and relatives but they failed to find out where Thea was.
As the minutes passed, their fear grew.
Soon, more people became aware of the child’s disappearance and volunteered to help in the search.
For almost two hours, that was all they did.
They searched for Thea, hoping that at any moment they would find her safe and sound.
By five in the afternoon, Thea had still not been found.
Her disappearance was formally reported to the police station.
The police, along with personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection and several volunteers, immediately moved to assist in the search operation until darkness fell.
They continued to search the area with their flashlights, searching for light, going to different places and possible locations of the child, but even at 2 a.m., they still failed to find Thea.
Due to extreme fatigue and drowsiness, the search team temporarily stopped.
But for her grandparents, and Thea’s mother who also knew what had happened, and others who loved her, it was almost impossible to sleep or rest as the hours passed.
They were consumed by worry and fear.
Before the sun rose the next day, there was still hope.
They were clinging to the hope that they would find Thea alive and safe.
Her grandfather left early to continue the search, but before the sun was even hotter at around seven in the morning, a shocking scene dawned on him.
A scene that shook their quiet town.
He found his granddaughter, but what he saw was not what they expected.
Thea was lying on the ground with blood on her head.
She was no longer breathing or moving.
She was just behind the Saint Martin de Porres Chapel.
The old man was very shocked and could not believe what he saw.
His tears began to fall.
He immediately approached his granddaughter and repeatedly called her name, but there was no response.
What he heard made him realize the painful truth and immediately sought help from nearby residenTS. As the news spread throughout the community, Thea was rushed to the Anastasia Rafael Sagel Memorial Hospital in the hope of saving her, but unfortunately, she was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.
The initial medical examination indicated that he had a traumatic brain injury.
The probable cause of his death was due to the wounds found on his head, but when his body was subjected to autopsy examination, the cause of his death was confirmed to be hemorrhagic shock secondary to traumatic head injury.
In short, due to a strong blow to her head, she suffered a serious injury that caused severe bleeding, which caused her body to lose enough blood to the point that it caused her death.
Thea’s family, especially her mother, was deeply saddened.
She could not accept that this would happen to her little angel.
It had only been a few days since she left her in the care of her parents to go to work, but instead of embracing her again, her daughter was already a corpse.
She saw it in their neighborhood, and on social media, people’s emotions—sadness, pity, and anger—were felt by many for whoever committed this crime.
Everyone had only ONE cry: Justice for Thea.
So the question that many are asking is who was so heartless that he did this to a defenseless child? Due to the strong public outcry, they immediately conducted a thorough investigation.
The police began questioning residents and people near the area where Thea’s body was found, hoping that someone could provide valuable information that would help identify the culprit.
During the follow-up investigation the next day, May 25, an individual approached the police and asked to question the two children he saw behind the Banawel Elementary School on the very day Thea went missing.
Since the said school is also close to the Saint Martin de Porres Chapel where the child’s body was found, after the police identified ONE OF THE children referred to by the informant, they immediately went to their house for verification and further questioning regarding the case.
The child’s mother came out first and the police explained their purpose.
When asked where her son was, she said he was inside the house.
She immediately called him and when the police confronted him, they learned that he was twelve years old and also a student who we will hide under that name.
He was asked simple questions, especially about his whereabouts on the day Thea disappeared.
According to the child, he had only been at school that afternoon and had returned home at five o’clock.
The police wondered why he had stayed at school so long, since it was a Saturday and a holiday.
However, they still did not have sufficient grounds to suspect the child or to continue further questioning, so they left after their visit.
But after they left, the child asked his mother a strange question.
He asked it in their dialect: “What will happen if I do what the police asked me?” His mother was slightly surprised and stunned by that question.
She did not expect to hear that from her child.
However, she replied and said, “If a child commits a crime, he will not be immediately detained but can be taken to the DSWD.”
Little did she know that that simple conversation would become ONE OF THE details that would give a new direction to the investigation of the case.
The child replied, “Will you hand me over to the DSWD?” His mother was even more surprised by what she heard from her daughter and was slightly stunned.
She did not expect his response, so she asked him directly, “Why did you do that, son?”
At that moment, the mother’s world seemed to collapse.
When the boy answered, he openly admitted his participation in the crime.
The mother could not believe what she was hearing.
She hoped that maybe her son was just joking or that he did not fully understand what he was saying.
But as their conversation continued, she realized that he was serious and telling the truth.
Despite being extremely nervous and shocked, she immediately called her husband who was still at work.
She confessed to their son and said that they probably should take him to the Police Station, but the father replied that they should not be in a hurry.
He said that it would be better for them to first seek advice from their relatives, especially their barangay captain.
After talking to the captain, they agreed that they needed to tell the authorities what they knew.
So the next day, May 26, they brought Utoy to our Municipal Police Station.
There, his mother recounted their conversation and the boy’s confession, but the investigators were even more surprised by the information that came out.
According to Utoy, he was not the only one involved in what happened.
He also pointed to an eight-year-old child whom we will keep under the name Junjun.
Because of this, the police also went to Junjun’s house and interviewed him.
This confirmed most of what Utoy said about their participation in Thea’s death.
Important details of their statements also matched.
According to Junjun, while they were walking near the chapel that day, they saw the little girl, Thea.
Utoy, who was twelve years old, allegedly ordered him to approach the child and take her to the back of the church.
At first, he refused, but according to him, Utoy threatened him and said he would hurt him if he did not comply.
He followed out of fear, saying he had no choice but to follow his companion’s orders.
After the incident, Junjun ran away in fear, leaving Utoy and Thea at the scene.
According to the statement, Utoy allegedly hit the little victim on the head with a stick.
The serious injuries sustained by Thea eventually caused her death—an event that was difficult to accept for many, especially since it emerged that the accused involved in the crime were both minors.
Despite their statements, the big question still remains in the minds of many: why did they commit such a heinous and despicable crime? What drove them to do something that we can hardly imagine children of that age would do? In their further statements, another revelation came out that shocked and angered many people.
According to them, that afternoon, they were drinking in front of a closed store.
They drank two and a half bottles of gin, so it was probably not their first time drinking.
The police did not stop them.
Where did the alcohol they drank come from? So many are asking how the two minors had access to alcohol, when it is strictly prohibited by law.
On social media, some netizens expressed their disappointment and said that if the children really bought alcohol, the store owner should also be held responsible.
According to their statement, after drinking, they walked around the area.
At that time, they saw Thea.
Some said that alcohol may have influenced their thinking and decisions, but for some netizens, this is not a sufficient explanation.
Some have also expressed the opinion that there may have been other factors that influenced their actions.
However, these remain only speculations and there is no official conclusion from the authorities regarding the real motive behind the crime.
According to reports that emerged based on the progress report of our police station, the suspect, Utoy, admitted that Thea was also suspected, but the authorities have not yet released the complete results or details about this to the public, so it is unclear what the final findings were.
The Mountain Province Police Provincial Office has released a Progress Report on the alleged murder of two suspecTS. The victim is based on the statement of the suspecTS. However, the overall details of the incident remain a serious and unacceptable crime.
What happened to the little victim is an incident that has greatly concerned the public and left many questions as to how it happened.
Meanwhile, a comment has also been circulating on social media claiming that the twelve-year-old child is adopted and that his biological father also has a bad record.
However, it is important to note that this information has not yet been confirmed by the authorities, so it may or may not be true.
According to the latest update, eight-year-old Junjun has been temporarily released while twelve-year-old Utoy remains in the custody of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office.
Because of this case, many are wondering what will happen next to the two children.
The issue of RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, which provides special protection, intervention, and rehabilitation to minors involved, has been reopened.
In crimes or so-called children in conflict with the law, under this law, children fifteen years of age and below are not considered to have criminal liability, meaning they cannot be held accountable in the same manner as an adult offender or cannot be imprisoned.
Instead, they can undergo intervention, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs designed for minors.
This has led to mixed opinions from the public.
Some say that the current law is sufficient to give delinquent children a chance to change their ways, while others believe that it should be reexamined.
Whether the existing age threshold is still appropriate for the challenges of the current era has also crossed the minds of many, and some agree with Senator Robin Padilla’s proposal to study the possibility of lowering the age of criminal liability for minors involved in serious crimes, as happened in another incident in San Pablo, Laguna on May 24, a day after what happened to Thea, where a mother and her child died due to beating and a 14-year-old suspect confessed to the crime.
These cases are just a few of many involving children, proving that the issue of juvenile justice and the responsibility of minors today needs to be re-examined.
It remains a complex and sensitive issue.
On the one hand, there is the need to provide justice to victims, and on the other hand, there is also the purpose of the law to provide an opportunity for change and correction for young people who have made mistakes, no matter what.
The perspective of each ISA is clear.
In this case, what happened to Thea served as a painful reminder to all of us that it is not enough to simply provide food, clothing, and shelter for our children.
They also need to be guided, watched, and talked to.
As they grow up, in this era of rapidly evolving technology and the many influences that children can receive from the world around them, it is even more important for us to know what they are doing, what they are watching, and who they are often with, because ultimately, proper family and co
