Police yet to determine if murdered architect in Davao City was raped

DAVAO ORIENTAL, Phlippines – The regional director of the Philippine National Police in Davao said probers of the high-profile killing of a 28-year-old architect in Davao City, Vlanche Marie Bragas, have yet to determine if the victim was also sexually assaulted.

“For now, we don’t have a suspect yet (in the killing Bragas) and police investigators have yet to determine if the victim was also raped,” Police Brigadier General Alden Delvo, the regional chief of the PNP in Davao said during a press briefing in Davao City on Thursday, May 18.

The dead body of Bragas was found on May 17 in an open canal in Barangay Dacudao, Calinan District. Police said the remains of Bragas had several stab wounds and was half naked with her pants and underwear removed.

She was on her way home when she was attacked by her assailant, according to her family.

In a statement, the United Architects of the Philippines condemned the brutal killing of its colleague and called on the government to capture Bragas’ killer.

“As United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) Davao Chapter members, we stand united in condemning the heinous act that befell Architect Vlanche Marie Bragas. The news of her rape and subsequent abandonment in a desolate grassland has utterly shocked and anguished us. This unspeakable act goes against the very fabric of humanity and the principles we hold dear as architects, professionals, and fellow human beings,” the UAP said in a statement

The Davao City police office said it has put up a hotline number for the capture of Bragas’ killer. – Rappler.com