Filipino Girl Went Missing In A Mall - Taken By Secret Tunnels In Fitting Room? Case Jovelyn Galleno

Bada bing, bada boom. There is an urban. legend in the Philippines that revolves. around shopping malls and beautiful. young women that go missing inside of. these shopping malls. The legend goes. something like this. A young couple were. in a shopping plaza in this massive mall. and the place is it's bustling with. people. It's the weekend, there's a lot. of people in and out. I mean, there's. just activity everywhere. It's supposed. to feel safe. I mean, you feel safe when. there's so many witnesses, when there's. so many people, yeah? I mean, most of.

the time, right? Now, the couple they. walk into this woman's clothing store. The boyfriend is already bored. She. tells him, "It's just going to be 1. second, like just hold on a second." He. leans up against the wall of the store. He's looking at his phone, scrolling. through. She's running around the store. picking out a few pieces and she lets. him know, "Hey, I'm just going to go try. this on in the fitting room and it's. going to be super quick. We can leave. immediately after.". He nods again. He does not look up from. his phone. It is not until about 10. minutes passes he realizes, "Wow,

she's taking an extra long time right. now. What's going on? Maybe her zipper is. stuck. Maybe she needs assistance. Maybe. she needs my opinion on something. Not. that we care, okay? But uh he makes his. way to the back of the changing rooms. and every single one of them. has their doors wide open. They're all. empty. "Sorry, miss, you work here, right? Have you seen my girlfriend? She. was just in there changing uh trying on. some clothes. I'm sorry. I'm not sure I know what you're talking.

about. You don't have a girlfriend or at. least not that we know of. You walked in. here alone." "Why would I walk into a. woman's clothing store alone? I came in. here with my girlfriend. She literally. was in that changing room right there.". "Perhaps you were buying a gift, but. sir, you were alone. Nobody has been in. the fitting room since this morning.". The boyfriend starts to feel agitated, angry, and potentially even confused. He. might almost be questioning, "Wait a. damn minute, like did I really come in. here alone? I mean, her birthday is. coming up. Was I Was I trying to buy her.

a gift and I blacked out? Like this is. weird." But then you remember the legend. of the half snake, half human. Look, some people believe that this is. just human trafficking, but others. believe that there are false floors in. the changing rooms. Women walk in, they. are spied on by two-way mirrors or. cameras that are installed into the. changing rooms, hidden cameras. If they. are chosen, the bottom of the fitting. room floor falls out, they're. transported into this long tunnel.

{slash} slide that leads them to an. underground hidden maze {slash} tunnel. system underneath the mall. From there, they are either human trafficked, according to the urban legend, and never. seen again, vanishing into thin air. It would imply that the malls are in on. it, okay, including all the retail. workers. But more people believe. it's actually the half human, half. snake. The legend isn't as old as you. would think it is. It started in the. '90s in the Philippines and it kind of. died down until recently a case.

connected a missing woman with the half. human, half snake legend. Legend says there is a half human, half. snake living in the secret basement of a. popular mall near Manila called. Robinsons Galleria. There are two. versions of this part of the legend. Some say that the owners of the mall. know the human snake is in the basement. and at first they thought of all the. ways to get rid of this human snake, but. then they realized the human snake is. what's bringing in the fortune. That's. what's making this mall successful, so. we need to do whatever it takes to keep.

the human snake happy. That is our price. for fortune. The other variation says the human snake. is actually a child of John Gokongwei, the owner of Robinsons Malls. The human. snake was allegedly the twin brother of. Robina, which is John's daughter. So. this is a very public family, very. wealthy family. They own the malls and. they're saying, "No, no, no. She. actually is not just a daughter. She had. a twin brother. He's the half human, half snake." The. legend says John's wife had given birth.

to both human twins and originally. everything seemed very, very normal. Now, as time passes, the boy twin starts. to grow stronger, faster, but also kind. of stranger. Instead of legs, he ends up. growing a snake body. This is the urban. legend. Now, the growth of his body was. so uncontrollable that within a couple. of months this infant toddler is taking. up the space of a living room. Soon the. first floor There's no way that he can. play, live, and exist. And it's not like.

they can just let this half human, half. snake outside. He's going to be shot. dead or held in a science lab somewhere. So now the family is thinking, "Okay, what do we do? We got to figure. something out." They also realize a. little catch. It's not just the fact that he's half. human, half snake, but it's also the. fact that this little boy, this little. creature, does not like to eat anything. but pretty young woman. Will not eat eggs, rice, nothing, just. pretty young woman. Now, it's debatable.

what he does with these women. Some. versions of the urban legend say that he. swallows them whole like a snake. Others. say that he digs his fangs into their. necks and drains them of every drop of. their blood, just leaving bloodless, empty shells of dead women all around. him. Either way, the family was forced to build a massive. compound to house their son that. happened to be half human, half snake. And they had to constantly find young. women to feed their son. But you cannot. just throw a big building in the middle.

of nowhere and have a bunch of young. women disappear that's connected to that. building and think that nothing is going. to happen. So the only solution that they could. come up with that made logical sense. was a mall. It would give the family. unlimited access to girls and it would. house their son in the underground. basement. The fitting rooms were set to. have these hidden cameras and sometimes. there would be two-way mirrors that. allowed their son to see these girls. He's very particular. He likes them. young and pretty. He has a style. Even. though he's trapped in the basement, he.

would pick the ones that he wanted and. with the press of a button inside the. fitting rooms, the floor would disappear. from underneath them. and they would slide down the tunnel. straight into his mouth. Now, I do think that the urban legend. would have died down in the '90s had it. been just that, but a famous celebrity. somehow gets involved in this. Alice Dixon was crowned the Philippines. Miss International. So this is like a Philippines beauty. contest and she is now working as an. actress. She had this promotional shoot.

at the Robinsons Galleria mall and you. know, she's trying on clothes and. they're taking pictures of her and they. direct her to a department store on the. fourth floor. They're like, "Hey, use. this fitting room to change into your. next set of clothes for the next shot.". She goes in and she just She said she. couldn't shake this feeling. Someone was watching her. Now, since she had entered this mall, she had felt that, but she brushed it. off cuz she's a celebrity. There must be. people watching and you know, they're. taking pictures of her. That's going to. draw attention, but even in this fitting.

room when she's supposedly alone, she feels eyeballs on her. It's weird. There was this growing sense. of unease to the point where she didn't. even want to change and boom, it all. happened so fast, she didn't even have. time to scream. The floor of the. changing room dropped. She found herself. in a slide that led to the basement of. the mall. It didn't even look like out. of the backrooms. It straight up looked. like an abandoned sewage tunnel. A. horror movie. She was confronted by a. human snake. The human snake was.

astonished by her beauty for a split. second and it froze. It was just soaking. in her beauty, so she ran. She ran. through the dark chambers of the tunnel. and did not stop running. Eventually, she heard a change in the air. She said. that she had blacked out at this point. She didn't even know how she got out. Somehow she ends up in the lobby of a. hotel nearby, confused on how she even. managed to escape. Tabloid headlines and small news. articles start coming out about this. bizarre near-death experience. People. start going nuts. You know, they want to.

know more. Everyone just assumed that. this whole thing was an urban legend. There is no way it actually happened to. someone and there's actually no way that. there's a half human, half snake. Come. on. The legend only grew stronger. when supposedly Alice was supposed to. appear on this big talk show to discuss. what happened to her. And just as she starts sharing her. experience and the truth of what. happened, the TV signal falters and the. show stops midair. People at home were losing their minds. It felt like someone really, really did. not want this story to get out and the.

mystery only grew stronger from there. because, you know, it's like, "Okay, fine, get Alice to a different show. It's not going to falter again, right? This time maybe do a live audience.". Well, it was impossible because out of. nowhere Alice decides to just drop out. of show business and abruptly ghost the. industry and moves to Canada. What in the world? interested in doing interviews about. anything and whispers started. speculating that the owners of the mall. had compensated her 15 million USD to. ensure her silence.

Alice would eventually come back to the. industry, but it was a it it definitely. served the urban legend a lot. It just. kept going further and further. So the unsettling feeling that people. associated with the mall was was pretty. cemented in stone after that. And in. August 2022, like half a year ago, the popular urban legend regained its. grip on the Philippines. A young retail employee of the Robinsons. Galleria went missing in the mall. Her.

name is Jovelyn Gayeno and her. disappearance would stir up conspiracies. of a human snake lingering in the mall, allegations of a human trafficking ring, and a very, very mysterious tarot card. reader who is set to have gotten to the. truth of what happened to Jovelyn, predicted everything correctly before. the police did. How did the tarot card reader know what. happened to her? Did it have anything to do with the. urban legend? Let's dive in.

As always, full show notes are available. at rottenminglepodcast.com. Since we are covering another Filipino. case today, we had our wonderful. Filipino researcher help with gathering. of the facts, understanding the public's.

response, and even just trying to grasp. the complexity surrounding this case. She actually resides in the Philippines, so I think that she had a really good. understanding of. just generally how people felt, what. this urban legend was about, and I hope. that this will be a comprehensive deep. dive on this very very frustrating and. very puzzling case of Jovelyn. But as. always with international cases, let us. know if there's anything that was missed. or anything lost in translation. So with. that being said, let's get into it. Have.

you ever used or gotten a tarot card. reading? When I was in middle school, it. was trendy in China. Aw. the girls had a stack and. They read your future. Okay, and what. did they tell you? I think they predicted everything, yeah. Yeah, they're like, you're going to meet. a Korean girl and she's never going to. stop talking. Uh so a lot of people refer to tarot. cards as a soul map. You have a stack of. cards that all mean something, whether. it's about your love life, work life, or. family. And.

actually researching about tarot cards. makes me want to get into tarot cards. So you pull randomly from a deck of. these very specific cards, and you think. about the questions in life that you. want answered. Then you start. interpreting these cards. And this is. oversimplifying the beauty of tarot. cards. I clearly don't read tarot cards. I do find it fascinating. Now I will say. typically, and I've been vocal about. this, I hate when tarot cards or. psychics are involved in true crime. cases. I just think that it's a lot more. pain. than it is productive. But this case is.

particularly interesting. because the tarot card reader is spot-on. with practically everything. Now. obviously, it could have gone the. complete opposite way, but it was. interesting. So I did go on Reddit, and. I did look up tarot cards, and a lot of. people who regularly use tarot cards say. that it's just a way to meditate. You're. not trying to base life decisions off. the cards. You're not trying to figure. out your future. It's not really. something that tells you what's going to. happen to you. In fact, it lets you have.

a deeper understanding of oneself. So. you're asking a question, there's almost. this gut feeling of what you want the. cards to read. Or it pulls out a card. that makes you self-reflect in a. different perspective that you might not. have done before. Yeah, I can see that. And that makes me want to get into tarot. cards. Yeah, so it's just a medium for you to. think Yeah. your mind wander and. People say that it it's not really about. talking to a spirit like people make it. out to be or predicting the future or. even like trying to get you to do a life.

decision off of it. It's genuinely just. meditation, they said. Instead of. journaling, you're just asking yourself. these questions. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, and I kind of like it. Yeah, and I feel like there's actually. science behind that. Yes, cuz it might be a fresh perspective. to these problems or obstacles you're. facing. And the cards are vague enough. that it applies to a lot of things, so. you start wandering with your mind. In. that sense, very cool. But when the news. broke that a young, beautiful, 22-year-old mall employee went missing. in the Robinsons Galleria, social media.

was all over this case. A concerned citizen took it upon herself. to seek the guidance of a renowned tarot. card reader in the Philippines, J. Costura. Now, she is very famous, she is. very well-beloved, she is on YouTube. Yeah, she does a lot of these tarot card. readings for big cases and just just. things in general. So the tarot card. readings of what happened to Jovelyn, the missing woman, were posted on. YouTube. I know, very controversial, all of the. above. But the readings were.

fascinating. J Costura went into detail. about the what the cards revealed. This. is like literally right after the. 22-year-old goes missing. Nobody has any clue what happened. All. people know is that she went missing in. a mall, and J starts doing the tarot. card reading. And I just want to make it. very clear, the tarot card readings went. the best way possible in this scenario, if you can even call it that. But there. are countless cases where people have. predicted what happened so publicly with. so much conviction, and it turned out to. be wrong. And this is happening in the.

US as well, okay? Or it just it just. turned out to cause more distress. amongst the victim and their family, so. just just keep that in mind. The cards. were laid out on the table. They were these beautiful like. luminescent gold-colored cards, and the. light was reflecting off of them. beautifully. They felt very rich, they. felt very tangible. And it it just kind. of contrasted sharply with the air of. mystery and anxiety. It just felt very anxious in the video. when you watch it. Now a few of the. cards were chosen, revealed, and. analyzed. Both women, J Costura and the.

concerned citizen, looked very stressed. They looked very focused. Now this case. at this point had been a blank slate. 22-year-old Jovelyn had walked into the. mall for her shift. She was a saleslady. She finished her shift, texted her. family that she was hungry, vanished. We. don't know if she left the mall. We. don't know if she's still in the mall. Did she leave alone? Did someone take. her home? Did they say that they would. drive her home? Did she get on a bus. like she normally does? Nobody knew. anything. I'm talking blank slate. She.

just vanished. And of course, there's more pressing. questions like, is she still alive? What. happened? Can we rescue her? J read the. cards and emphasized the belief that. Jovelyn Gayeno was still alive. J continued to flip the cards and. studied them and talked to the viewers. at home. She presented a compelling. narrative. She stated that the cards. suggested that Jovelyn was still alive, being held captive by powerful. individuals or individuals who had power.

over her. They were authority figures of. some sort. She looks at the cards and. says, "See, this is what I was afraid. of.". "Here I see a substantial amount of. money, which can mean that her captors. may have profited off of her." J went on. to continue. And this part is interesting. But she states that the abundance of red. cards compared to black cards suggest to. her that there was a surprising sense of. lack of envy or jealousy in Jovelyn's. life. Meaning that Jovelyn had a very. tranquil energy that emanated off of. her. Suggesting again or suggesting to J.

that Jovelyn's disappearance was not due. to an angry friend or partner. It was. not a crime of passion where someone. just hated her, despised her, was. jealous of her, or someone was upset. with her or had something against her. It seemed almost random. Or maybe they just genuinely wanted her. because of the way she looked or her. age. J also noted that there was no card. that features the ace of flowers, which. J associates with water and a change of. location. She believes strongly that.

Jovelyn was still in the confines of the. island. Now this was the very first. session that was posted online. These. are the details that she reads from her. tarot cards. Another secondary session. was posted with the same concerned. citizen and the tarot card reader, and. this time they had a new deck of cards. The new deck still indicated to J that. Jovelyn was alive, and the new card. suggested a sense of betrayal in. Jovelyn's case. A deal or agreement. appears to have been made, potentially. involving Jovelyn.

She is being held against her will by. someone or a group of people, and. despite being held captive, the card suggests that she's being very. well taken care of. J stated the card. suggests that Jovelyn possesses the. strength to escape if she can just. discover a way. J continued to state. that she senses the captors. or or at least some of the captors. are considering releasing Jovelyn, but. the heightened attention surrounding her. case complicates their decision. J. reiterates that although Jovelyn's. disappearance and her belief is.

premeditated, it it's not driven by. anger, animosity, or jealousy, or. revenge. It is unrelated to romantic. relationships or personal attachments. She believed Jovelyn to be in close. proximity to her home. She states that the captors wanted to. take Jovelyn somewhere else, but unseen. obstacles prevented them. She stated. that she saw Jovelyn entering a car. willingly, and that she had left the. mall willingly. She concludes her session by saying, "The individuals holding Jovelyn captive.

are likely part of a syndicate or. possess significant influence and power. over her." She also states that there. are more things that the cards have. revealed to her, but because of the. ongoing investigation, she doesn't want. to release that information. Now, I. believe in the Philippines tarot card. reading is generally more accepted and. believed. So there was some pushback of, "Oh, I don't think we should be doing. this." But most people who were. listening, I don't think that they took. it so seriously that they were like, "Oh. my god, the syndicate. We got to bring. down the syndicate." It was more of, you. know, they listened to this and they.

feel more connected to the case. They. feel more passionate about this case, which I think ultimately did lead to. positive things. So the public starts. putting pressure on the police to do. something, find something, take action. So let's start with what we do know. The. night of August 5th, 2022, Jovelyn's mom. was home with Jovelyn's two sisters, Jonelyn and Jocelyn. So Jonelyn, Jovelyn, and Jocelyn, okay? They're all. hanging out downstairs waiting for. Jovelyn to get home from her shift at. the mall so that they could cook up some.

dinner. Jonelyn, her sister, was. scrolling through her phone when it. buzzed. Jovelyn, hey, what are we eating for dinner? Mom, Jovelyn wants to know what's for. dinner. Mom's confused. Wait, I I. thought she was bringing home food. Or. at least that's what she said this. morning, but. Okay, maybe she's tired. Forget it. Just. tell her to come home, we'll have. something. So the mom gives the sister. some money and sends her out to buy some. takeout. She goes out and she texts. Jovelyn on the way saying, "Hey, I'm. grabbing food. Is there anything.

particular you want to eat?". Jovelyn never responds. The sister. brings back the food and the family. waits around the table. Like, the food. is waiting, it's hot, it's steaming. They're sitting around and they're like, "Okay, any minute now she's going to be. bursting through the door and we're all. going to feast on some dinner.". Maybe she's working overtime? No, but usually when she's working. overtime at the store, she texts us to. let us know that she's going to be. running late. Either way, they decide to eat without. her. But, even when they were done, Jovelyn was still not home. They kept. trying to message her throughout the.

entirety of the dinner and no response. And finally, they called her, which I. imagine that they were avoiding calling. her in case that she was working. And. the phone rings, someone picks it up. Hello? Hello? Whoever was on the other line. did not say anything. It was silent. There wasn't a single. word, noise, nothing. It was really. unsettling. Maybe it's in her pocket and. she accidentally picked it up and she's. busy. They couldn't hear clothes.

rustling or inventory being put away, so. they didn't they didn't really know what. to make of it. That night it was really. hard for any of them to get sleep. without Jovelyn being home. It just. wasn't like her. The next morning they. wake up and Jovelyn is still not home. So, Jovelyn's mom and her two sisters, they rush to the mall and wait for it to. open hoping that Jovelyn is there. Maybe. something happened and she had to sleep. overnight. Maybe I don't know, okay? They're coming up with all these reasons. in their head because that's the best. case scenario. But, when she's not. there, they ask any of her colleagues,

"Do you know where she's gone?" Like, I. this doesn't make sense. They have no clue. In fact, they turned. that store upside down. There was no. sign of Jovelyn anywhere. There was no. signs of struggle. There was no signs. that anything happened last night. That. morning, she would officially be. registered a missing person. At just 22. years old, Jovelyn Gayeno had vanished. The police are going to try and convince. us that she didn't just vanish, she ran. away or she willingly got into a strange. man's car because she was just crazy.

like that. Even if that were true, you. should still be looking for her. But, in. the case of Jovelyn, it just didn't make. sense. Jovelyn was working as a salesgirl at. the Robinson Mall. And her boss had only. only great things to say about her. She. was consistently on time. She delivered. great performance. The customers loved. her. She was polite. Even literally, what is there not to love? When she. wasn't working, she was studying. criminology. at the local college. Her dream, her. ultimate dream, was to become a police. officer. And I imagine that if she.

became an officer, she would not fail. the families of victims like the police. would fail her family. Everyone who knew. Jovelyn said her whole life could be. summed up into two things. She had this. very strong, unbreakable sense of. familial unity. Like, she was. she was the type that would do anything. for her family. As the eldest sister, she would take on odd jobs while she's. studying in college. She wanted to make. sure that her sisters never had to work. for food or were eating well. It's like.

she had more hours in a day, more days. in a week than most people. On Sundays, she never missed church service. Everyone described her to be just so. utterly wholesome. She's the type of. student or daughter that other parents. would be like, "Why can't you be more. like Jovelyn?" Please. She never went out drinking, never went. out clubbing. She was dedicated to her. goals and nothing was going to get in. her way. Like, even fun. The only time. that she stayed out late was when she. had to stay after closing to help with. packing and inventory. But, even then,

she never came home after 9:00 p.m. She. was actually one of the odd young people. that really found. comfort in just staying home. She was. very happy to stay home. Even her. cousins, Leobert and Jovert, were both. in their 30s. If they ever got hungry, these are. full-grown men in their 30s. If they. ever got hungry, if they ever couldn't. afford food, they went to Jovelyn, to. 22-year-old Jovelyn. She would cook for anyone that she cared. about. Not only would she cook for you, she would sit you down, make you feel.

warm, and ask you about yourself. Is everything okay? She loved like a. good, heartfelt conversation. And now she was just gone. She just. vanished. And this whole family, they're. like, "We have a giant hole in our. hearts." Like, what are you talking. about? The cousins are begging for her. return. Her sisters are distraught. Her. mom is beside herself. What is going on? Also, side note, another thing that was. very very rare for Jovelyn's age is that. she knew that ego could destroy. relationships and careers. So, she never.

let her ego get in the way of resolving. a fight. So, everything is just saying. that she's not a pushover. She is very. very strong-minded, has a good head on. her shoulders, and it just doesn't make. sense. I imagine working very early on. and having this like financial burden of. caring for her family was a big part of. growing up early, but. you know, one day she was going to be an. amazing, fair, trustworthy police. officer. One that would put these police officers. working her case to shame. It felt like.

they had genuinely no idea what the hell. they were doing. Jovelyn is reported. missing and the police start their. investigation at the mall, the Robinson. Mall, because that is Jovelyn's last. known location. You know, their plan. makes a lot of sense. They would go. through the CCTV footage hoping to catch. a glimpse of her movements. At least. that way they could figure out what exit. she took. Maybe she ran into a friend. Maybe she ran into someone in the mall. Or maybe she was taken in the mall. Like, we don't know. We got to go. through the CCTV footage. But, when the police arrive at the mall,

the owners are like, "Well, we don't. want to help. We don't want to give you. the CCTV footage." Now, this is where. the urban legend comes into play. I. don't think that the public were coming. into this guns a blazing at the mall. Like, "Oh my god, remember the urban. legend of the mall?" Like, it's the. mall. They just had the same reaction as. the police. Okay, she probably left the. mall and then ran into foul play after. she left, right? Cuz the mall is so. public, it's so bright. What's going to. happen in there? We got to get the CCTV. footage. See if she left with someone. Who did she leave with? What exit did.

she take? At least that gives us a. direction that she might have been. going. But, then suddenly. the mall doesn't want to give CCTV? That's weird. Why would they not want to. help unless they had something to hide? The urban legend now started getting. brought up with this case. Now, the. urban legend is what threw this case. into social media spotlight. People. could not stop talking about how creepy. the mall was, how her disappearance must. be connected to the human snake. Others. argued there was never a human snake,

it's human trafficking. Regardless of what you thought, public. enemy number one right now was the. police and the mall. You know, a lot of. people were saying, "What do you mean, officer, that the mall said no? Like, since when do you guys take no for an. answer?". As a regular civilian, you ask me to do. something, I take no, bad things happen. to me. But, this big, fancy mall, they. can say no to you all the time? People. commented, "A life is at stake and this. is how much effort you're putting into. it? Someone said no, so now you're done. investigating?".

I'm sorry. Is the mall more powerful. than the police? This is kind of crazy, guys. Now, side note, Jovelyn. disappeared in Puerto Princesa, which is. a beautiful tourist island, like a tiny. little island, that attracts a lot of. local and foreign tourists. So, news of. her disappearance made a lot of people. adverse to vacationing there. And that. is what made police get more involved in. the case. So, originally, the police. were like, "Sorry, we can't get the mall. CCTV footage. So, like, case is over. Bye, everybody. Go home, right?" Now, the public attention is what made the. police get more invested in this case.

They realized that the public was not. just going to forget about her. disappearance or her vanishing. And if. they didn't solve it, nobody was going. to go to the mall. Nobody was even going. to come visit the island that relied. heavily on tourist economy, on tourist. money. So, the government bosses, all of. the officials, the people that are. basically the bosses of the police, they're like, "You need to figure this. out." And with J Castora, the tarot card. reader, along with other high-profile. names getting involved, this case was.

getting bigger by the second, not even. by the day, by the second. Now, side. note, there were a lot of theories. forming. Many people believed that yes, indeed, it had something to do with the. mall. Something very strange happened in. that mall and since the owners are. wealthy, they're able to stand up. against the police and refuse to give. CCTV footage. Other small theories started to emerge. There were rumors that Jovelyn was. having an affair with her boss's. husband. Listen, I don't even know where. this came from and I don't even know how.

it started. But, her manager's name is. Karen and people said that Karen had. found out that her husband was hanging. out a lot with Jovelyn and instead of. leaving him, Karen became overwhelmed. with jealousy and emotion. She channeled. all that hatred, all that anger towards. Jovelyn instead of her own husband. And. she thought, "As long as she disappears, I can have my husband all to myself.". People on social media went so crazy. with this theory that news stations.

wanted to interview Karen, the manager. She came out and she denied having any. resentment towards Jovelyn. She said, "In fact, I've only ever spoken highly. of her. Like, you can see all of my. other interviews. You can ask anybody. We had a good relationship. She has a. great work ethic. She's dedicated to the. job. She was one of my best employees.". But, people overanalyzed this interview. and stated that she was way too. emotionless. If a manager genuinely liked your. employee, wouldn't you be emotional? Jovelyn's sister chimed in and said,

"Well, I was able to log into my. sister's Facebook account after she. vanished. And I actually did see. messages pertaining to the boss's. husband." Jovelyn was talking to a. friend of hers on Facebook about how she. wanted to quit her job. Jovelyn said, "I. don't like it. And the friend asked her why. Jovelyn. responded, "My boss's husband messaged. me out of nowhere regarding our products. and merchandise one night, and when I. came to work the next morning, my boss. asked me why I was talking to her. husband.". So, I clarified what was going on, but.

honestly, that was that. Like, nothing. happened, nothing went on. And it just. like the whole thing, it just seemed. like it threw off Jovelyn. She felt very. uncomfortable. But, there was nothing to. indicate that Karen or her husband felt. any type of way about it. So, again, a. lot of confusing rumors that aren't. really propelling the case forward or. helping in finding Jovelyn. Now, around. this time, Raffy Tulfo, this massive TV. personality and journalist and now a. senator in the Philippines, he starts. getting involved. He starts putting.

pressure on the officials. He even had. the mayor of the police force on his. show where he just grilled him for. answers. Mayroon screen grab from the. CCTV uh this the victim going inside. Robinson's mall, pero palabas na ng. Robinson's mall, wala. So, you were. saying the Susie? What was the reason? Mayroon na silang bagong nakita na lead. The mayor just kept repeating the same. responses over and over. It It sounded.

like he was given a list of answers that. were PR friendly, that were appropriate, and he just kept repeating those. I. don't want to hinder the investigation. We're still keeping that in mind. We're. still investigating the leads. We're. still trying to figure it out. Raffy. wasn't having any of it. He kept. pushing. And since Raffy was this. high-powered senator {slash} journalist, the mayor was actually terrified of him. He was in kind of a pickle. He had to. try and not hinder the investigation or. make himself or the police force look. bad, but also responded a way that Raffy.

would be satisfied with. It was not a. good position to be in. Every answer. just made it seem like the mayor and the. police were hiding something or that. they just were the most incompetent. people running this case. Overall, shitty situation. Raffy Tulfo kept. pushing the mayor to tell them if they. were able to get the CCTV footage from. the mall and what was seen on there. The. mayor kept brushing off this question. saying that he couldn't say anything. that could jeopardize the investigation. But, Raffy kept pushing and kept pushing.

and kept pushing. And with enough. pressure, the mayor stated, "You know. what? I'll give you my personal theory.". He stated that he saw a figure that. appears to be Jovelyn exiting the mall. in the CCTV footage that they were able. to obtain. Allegedly, she leaves through. the employee door and gets picked up by. an unknown sedan. He states that they. are looking for the sedan right now. Now, the whole energy of that statement. shifts the entire conversation. It. shifts the whole. the whole investigation. The mayor made.

it seem like Jovelyn willingly got into. some stranger's car. Even the way that. he was saying it. was just very, you know, why would she. get into an unknown man's car? Maybe she. ran off with a boyfriend. It's almost. like that kind of route it seems like. they're digging into. And since she's. 22, she's an adult, she can legally make. her own decisions, he almost made it. seem like she's just this 22-year-old. who doesn't care if her family is. stressed out or worried for her and just. wanted to go hang out with her. boyfriend. That is the implication of. this.

It wasn't even the sedan itself that was. the explosive news. So, Raffy starts. questioning the validity of this. statement because this is the first time. he's hearing of it, and it just it came. out of left field. And again, with. enough pushing, the mayor admits that he. just made this up to say something. To. say anything. Not a good look. So, he didn't see her leaving. No. He was just like, "I knew it was going. to be a dead end, so I just wanted to. say something, anything to get you off. my. You can expect how the people felt about. it. It seems like the mayor would rather.

lie than be truthful that they have. nothing so far. So, Raffy gets another police officer on. the show. Starts grilling him, too. It looks like. the police officers work slower than. turtles here. What's going on? Still no. good response. The saddest part of this. was Jovelyn, the sister was on standby. listening to everything. And she finally. got on air and said, "Please, sir, I. need to clarify something." The sister. states that she's upset that her sister. is being portrayed as this indecent girl. that would run into the car with her. boyfriend and run off without caring for.

her family. She kept clarifying that she was able to. gain access to her sister's Facebook. accounts, and there was no romantic. messages, not even flirtatious. conversations with anyone. Also, side. note, how sad is that? The minute a girl. is in a relationship, people are like, "Well, no point in looking for her now. She probably ran away with a boy.". Or the minute someone struggles with. mental health, people are like, "Well, no point in looking into their clearly. suspicious, weird, bizarre death cuz. they were probably depressed.".

It's crazy. So, Jovelyn's sister. passionately argued, "Please, she. doesn't entertain any men. Sir, she is. focused on work and her studies. She. just wants to graduate. Sir, if you. could You could ask anyone in the. neighborhood. You could ask all of our. neighbors. Conduct a survey if you must. to see if I'm telling the truth. You. have to trust me." A lot of people. sympathized with Jovelyn's sister. I. mean, it's frustrating when people paint. your loved ones to be someone that. they're not. And even if she did have a. boyfriend, it's frustrating that.

something like that could make her life. less valuable. Raffy agreed. He went on. to grill the head of the person in. charge of the local police department, and he straight-up just asked him like, "What is going on? Why did you lie?" So, the mayor says, "I was just tired.". So, you mean to tell me when you guys. are tired, you can just start making up. stories and telling lies? And mayor, adding insult to injury, why do you guys. keep all implying that Jovelyn has a. boyfriend or a suitor? We have Jovelyn's. sister who says Jovelyn would never.

entertain any guys. So, why you keep. imposing that her case is not an. abduction and that she got into a car. willingly?" Before he could even. respond, Raffy let the emotions get the. better of him, and he exploded on the. mayor, and he said, "Do I have to go to. the headquarters of the national police. department personally to request to talk. to the chief of the entire national. police force so that I can put you in. the hot seat? You better do your job and. get it together, or else I will put you. all under Senate hearing. Even that city. director of yours, I will bring to the. Senate. Once my patience runs out, I.

swear I will have you all investigated. because you're all working too slow. I want answers by tomorrow. Is that. good?" It was really, really intense. Now, Raffy did work very closely with. Jovelyn's family and even provided them. with a new place to live, financial. assistance to help start their own. business because Jovelyn was the sole. breadwinner. Raffy even paid the. family's monthly bills at one point, and. the family, the netizens, Raffy, everyone was so frustrated watching. these interviews. It felt like It felt.

like someone was hiding something, and. they thought that you were too dumb or. too powerless to do anything about it. It was such blatant lies. It was like a. slap in the face. It was so shady. But, there is another perspective to this. Some people felt like Raffy was doing a. bit too much. So, um they were saying, you know, it's one thing to draw public. attention to a case and demand answers. from the authorities that are being paid. by taxpayer money. That's one thing. It's another thing to keep pushing. people to a point where they could. potentially jeopardize the.

investigation. So, it's also a very. tricky situation for the journalist. because the journalist is expected to. get answers, and if they don't get. answers, they have to wonder why. Why. are we not getting the answers? But, at. the same time, you got to use some. reasoning. You got to use some nuance, and there's got to be some common sense. and some mutual understanding. I do. think that the mayor was shady, but I. don't think he was shady to that point. I think that there must have been a part. of him that genuinely was like, "I truly.

don't know what to say. I'm like getting. grilled so hard right now, and we've got. nothing, but I can't say that we have. nothing. And then I can't say anything that would. jeopardize the investigation. So, it was. just a very tricky situation." So, in. another instance, Raffy was interviewing. another police officer, and the officer. mentioned a piece of the CCTV footage. where there was this visual presence of. one of those giant metal cargo. containers that are used to like. transport goods. So, maybe they were in. like the cargo section of the mall, and. they're bringing in all these goods, and.

it was near the employee entrance. The. police officer stated something along. the lines of, "She went inside the metal. cargo container." Now, people are. thinking, "Is this the next big lead?". People were freaking out. Raffy was. freaking out. How come we're just. hearing about a metal shipping. container? Are you kidding? Who owned. the container? Why would she have gotten. into one? That doesn't make sense. It's. not part of her job description." Raffy. immediately hung up with the officer, called the officer's superior, who. clarified, "Well, wait. No, no, no, no, no. She went around the metal cargo.

container.". To which Raffy responded, "One of your. men said that she went inside the. container. That's why I'm asking you, what is inside? And if anyone has. already checked who owns the cargo. container? Good grief. Like, that's what. I'm asking you." Now, viewers at home, there is some nuance to this. Viewers at. home were feeling a little bit. frustrated because this one wasn't. purely police incompetent or secrecy. The officer in question that mentioned. the metal container, he spoke a. different dialect. So, he said went, but. the way that he used the word in Tagalog.

made it seem like she went in, but it. could have easily meant if she went. around. But, instead of clarifying, because it was clear that he didn't. speak the same dialect, instead of Raffy. being like, "Wait, wait. Can you. clarify? Did she go in or around?" He. just kind of like hung up and was like, "Okay, let me call the superior and make. it a whole big thing.". And everyone was like, "That didn't need. to be a big thing." You know? And then, you know, he's calling out police. incompetency and secrecy, but then. people were like, "Mm, this one just.

feels like you made something really big. for an explosive news segment, but it. wasn't that big of a deal." People. weren't happy about it. But, as social. media discourse was ramping up, so was. the investigation, believe it or not. The investigators were able to get. through the security footage of the. mall, and they found Jovelyn. There was. clear evidence that she made it to work. that day. So, okay, good. But, there was. no evidence that she left the. establishment at the end of her shift. Why does it not show that? The mall. stated there was a local power outage,

so all of their lights and power and. cameras shut off. Locals disputed this. and said, "We did not have a power. outage that night." So, what are you. saying? And coincidentally, it happened. the same time that Jovelyn was leaving. the mall for her shift. It felt really, really, really sinister. So, people kept. bringing up the human snake. People kept. bringing up human trafficking. There. were just rumors that the mall owners. had a deal with the police to ignore. cases like this so that they can feed. their human snake or do some sort of. underground activities. I mean, people.

also wondered, what if this was news. planted by the mall's competition, SM. Supermalls? They're They're like the. biggest competitors of Robinsons in. malls. What if they wanted Robinsons to. go down? So, they keep pushing this mall. narrative. This is like the the Chinese school kid. Yes. It's like once someone go missing, I feel like school or the mall, they. should be the number one people on top. of this. Yeah, not the police. Yeah, this should be hurting them the most. Exactly. I It I do think it's weird when.

the establishment that's getting hurt. the most, that is known for being super. capitalistic, is suddenly not. capitalistic. Because capitalism would. mean that. to distance yourself from this. they think they Yeah, distance is the. way to go. Like suppress it. Let's just. get rid of the story. But, instead, that. only fuels more online discussion and. more conspiracies. It's so weird. Wouldn't you rather just want to show. the footage like, "Hey, she left the. mall. We got nothing to do with it. Bye.". that to everyone. Yeah, so now it's like what's going on.

with the security, uh the the cameras, and it just sounds more and more and. more fishy. They should come out and. provide everything they have. Yeah, they should be working with the. investigators excitedly, like. aggressively hunting down investigators. they are doing something. Exactly. So, people are going back to. the tarot card readings and trying to. connect the dots. Jay, the tarot card. reader, said that there was a deal made. even before Jovelyn had disappeared. So, maybe the mall and the police had a. deal. Maybe the mall had a deal with the. human snake or some sort of shady.

organization or syndicate like Jay had. alleged. Now, on top of that, Jay had. stated that the people holding her. captive were authority figures that had. power. The mall owners have power. The. police have power. Government officials. have power. Nobody could understand how. there was no footage of her leaving the. mall. But, they did provide The mall does come. out and provide some records. This is. like an employee login and log out. records where you log out at that time. and you sign. And it showed Jovelyn.

logging out of her shift and out of the. mall, but this could have easily been. Someone could have signed for her. It. did nothing to calm the public. It just. felt very shady. Like, how is this good. enough? Like, you really think we're. going to be okay with this piece of. paper? All these coincidences were making. people feel very nervous about ever. going shopping or even trusting the. police. And then out of nowhere, a store outside. the mall said that they had footage of. Jovelyn outside of the mall after her. shift at work. They said the CCTV. footage showed Jovelyn outside waiting.

for a bus home. Police state that they. studied this footage and believed it to. be Jovelyn, and they showed it to. Jovelyn's family, and they were all. confirmed that it was Jovelyn. Everyone. except for Janelyn. This is the sister. that has been outspoken and has been. kind of the family representative in the. news. So, it's not like she's going. against her family. I would say that the. family is kind of more behind her. She. said that she was skeptical about this. video. She said that the only reason. that her family originally confirmed. that it was Jovelyn was because they. felt pressured by the police. But, the.

more that they watched this footage over. and over and over again, they felt like. they could not confidently say that that. was their sister. But, as she's voicing her concerns, police stated, "Nope. It's her sister. She's mistaken. It's her sister because. there were witnesses who saw her on the. bus." This stopped people dead in their. tracks. What do you mean, saw her? So, all of a. sudden, this grainy footage of her. outside the mall shows up because. there's no other evidence that she left. the mall. Suddenly, we have footage. And then, you.

suddenly have people that came forward. and said that, "You know what? Actually, I did see her.". Why did they not come forward prior to. this when everyone on social media was. still talking about it? It's not like. the case just exploded. So, I don't. know. The whole thing seems a very, very. fishy. But, this was the strongest lead. that the family was given. So, they. tried everything. The public was able to. find the driver of the bus, and he gave. very wishy-washy answers. He said he had. no clue if Jovelyn ever got on his bus.

because he focuses on driving rather. than the passengers. Everything about it. just felt weird. Like, all of a sudden, people saw her on the bus. All of a. sudden, she's on a bus. And then another. family tragedy struck. Two of Jovelyn's. cousins, do you remember Leobert and. Jovert? Both in their mid-30s were. involved in an accidental stabbing. involving each other. Trust me, it gets weirder. The stabbing. would result in both of them being. jailed for Jovelyn's kidnapping and. murder. Wait, wait, wait, slow down. They. stabbed each other? Yeah.

And that would result in them going to. the hospital and then later to prison. for Jovelyn's disappearance. Let me. explain, okay? Let me explain. Leobert. and Jovert had gotten drunk one night. This is like after Jovelyn disappears. And somehow, they enter into this. superheated argument, allegedly about. Jovelyn. One of them was injured and. required hospitalization. Now, it was. reported to the police once Jovert came. to the hospital cuz they're like, "This. I mean, you were clearly stabbed with a. knife. Like, you can't tell me. otherwise. So, we're going to have to.

report it to the police cuz that's a. knife fight." So, both of them get. brought into the police station, and. Leobert, one of the cousins, starts to. confess. His confession would rip his. entire family apart or whatever was left. of his family. It was It It was bad. Leobert stated that he and Jovert. planned to kidnap, assault, and kill. Jovelyn. Their own cousin, their own. flesh and blood that they grew up. around. They said they planned it for. weeks and that they finally did it. The. reason that the accidental stabbing.

occurred was because Leobert felt so. guilty about what he did. It was eating. him up on the inside. He just wanted to. turn himself in, clear his guilty. conscience, give Jovelyn's mom some. peace of mind. He wanted to stop living. his life looking over his shoulder. constantly for the police. He tried to tell Jovert one drunken. night, "Hey, buddy, I want to tell the. cops.". Jovert was pissed. He's like, "We agreed. to do this together. You can't just turn. yourself in cuz then I got to turn. myself in. I'm not ready to go to jail. You can go to jail by yourself. Why. should I have to go to jail?".

So, he grabs a knife and threatens to. kill Leobert. Leobert pushes him and. attempts to defend himself, and it. resulted in Jovert accidentally stabbing. himself with the knife. They had been. brought in. Jovert had been subdued, and. Leobert felt like now that he was no. longer around Jovert, he was no longer. scared for his life. He could confess. He stated that he was overcome with. remorse and guilt. This freaked out a. lot of people. for a number of reasons. The small one being.

Jay's tarot card reading stated that the. people who took Jovelyn were authority. figures. In the Philippines, it's much. like the rest of Asia, you are grown up. to show cousins especially that are 10. years older than you, you have to show. them respect. They are also your. authority figures. No one had thought of. it like that. People are like, "Wow, we. kept thinking about government officials. and police officers when. it could really be the person closest to. you." Mainly, everyone was freaked out. though because these were her cousins. What motive would they have in. kidnapping her?

Leobert was asked that, and he said it. all started a few months before she. vanished. He and Jovert kept talking. about how Jovelyn was so pretty. How beautiful she was. And at first, it. It started as like a fun family banter. Like, "Oh my god, our cousin is so. pretty." But, they said that uh they. became fascinated by her looks. And they. said that they were even more intrigued. by her contrasting tomboyish manner. I. don't know what they're trying to say. with that. Something about her was. irresistible, Leobert said. Now, at. first, it starts off as a simple joke.

They were joking. I don't know how this. is a joke or how it's funny. How they would kidnap her and what they. would do to her if they could kidnap. her. And for about a month or so, this is how. they planned it. The more they talked. about it, the less of a joke it seemed. and the more feasible, the more excited. they got for this plan. And then one evening, they put their. plan into action. They said that they knew where the bus. would drop off Jovelyn near the house, and it was very dark. She would get off. alone, and they would forcibly grab her. Now, if this were true, if this is true,

I cannot imagine the emotions that she. went through. First being grabbed, the. fear, the terror. And then when you look. and you see it's your cousins, maybe you. have this moment of like a release of. tension because you probably assume that. they're playing a joke on you. And then. that fear comes rushing back when you. realize. they're not. This is not a joke. They. stated that they grabbed and restrained. Jovelyn causing her to lose. consciousness. Leobert said they dragged her to a. grassy area in their hometown, subjected. her to rounds of horrific essay by her.

own two cousins, her own family members. And Leobert stated that she never gained. consciousness ever again. They realized. that she was dead, which was kind of. their plan because there's no way that. they could do this to their cousin of. all people and expect her to not say. anything to anyone. Leobert said they. dragged her lifeless body to an area. with even taller grass and less foot. traffic. They dug a shallow grave, buried her. They said that they. scattered her belongings through the. field as an attempt to hide the. evidence. And apparently, this was their.

masterful plan that took them over a. month to come up with. The confession of the crime is strange, and it doesn't sit right with a lot of. people. But either way, August 23rd, 2022, just 18 days after Jovelyn. vanished, Leobert led the police to the. locations where he and Jovert allegedly. hid Jovelyn's body. This is where things. get puzzling because at this point. people are thinking, I don't really. believe this confession. Maybe the guy's. on drugs, maybe he's drunk, maybe he's. like having a mental breakdown, cuz this. doesn't make sense. Who can really do.

this to their cousin? Jovelyn had been. missing for 18 days, and he pointed out. where her body was buried. The level of. decomposition on her body was extremely. severe. She was completely skeletal at. this point. There were no remaining soft. tissues, nothing. It was nearly. impossible to do a comprehensive. autopsy. There was no way to even prove. that she had been essayed before her. death because of how advanced the decomp. was at this state. A lot of forensic. experts who saw the crime scene photos. also stated that the bones almost looked.

a little too clean. I mean, yeah, you. could argue that being in a humid. tropical environment could lead to. faster decomposition, but something. about the scene felt oddly staged. That's how the public felt. That's how. experts felt. Another puzzling revelation was just how. close to home Jovelyn was. Even her. things that were scattered about, like. her ID, her bag, her sunblock, gum, wallet, all of it was discarded so, so. close to her home. Even her body was. found so close to her home, it didn't. make sense. A lot of neighbors wondered. how her neighbors, Jovelyn's neighbors,

the same ones that were searching high. and low for her, how they never smelled. or spotted her remains when she was. found a thousand feet away from her own. home. And she wasn't found in like an. abandoned field. One neighbor said that. the grassy area that she was found, it. had some foot traffic because people. would walk through it as a shortcut. It's not like a jungle, it's like just a. grassy area. And since it wasn't being put to use, some of the neighbors even planted herbs. and veggies. Kids would play in that. little yard area. Sometimes dogs would. play fetch. Even if a stray dog had died.

there, which has happened before, everyone would have known because of how. badly it smelled. I would imagine it's. worse with a human. There's even a store from where Jovelyn. was found that's 300 feet away. And. you're telling me no one smelled. anything? No one saw anything? No, I mean, everyone in the area is. looking for Jovelyn, and no one smelled. something so strange like a decomposing. body and thought, "Ah, it's probably got. nothing to do with the missing girl.". Like that doesn't make sense. The family. did confirm some of the items found.

nearby were Jovelyn's, but not all of. it. The underwear that was supposedly. hers were not hers according to the. family, but the wallet, ID, and some of. the other things were. Now, there was no. way for them to ID her based on. appearance because how. how her remains were found, but. Jovelyn's mom said, "In my heart I. genuinely believe that she's still. alive, that she is somewhere out there. because. I don't know if someone harmed her. In. my mind she's still alive. When I saw. those bones, I didn't feel anything. It's as if they didn't belong to.

Jovelyn.". So this further fueled the online theory. that whoever was found was not Jovelyn. Netizens suspected that the police. planted the bones there so that they. could stop investigating this case, that. it was some sort of big cover-up. But. the police kept going with this. Two. days later, on August 25th, 2022, they. instructed Leobert to guide them to. where he allegedly buried Jovelyn's. jewelry and phone. So this is another. odd thing. The jewelry and phone were. separated from the rest of her. belongings, and they were buried super. close to Leobert's house.

So either he's a super confident. criminal dumb, or this just felt. strange. It felt weird. Like if you. think of it from a criminal's. perspective, especially if you were. related to the victim, wouldn't you want. to get as far away from their items as. possible? Soon after, what the police. believed to be a shut and done case, because, you know, we can have all the. theories in the world, but only the. killers would know the location of. Jovelyn's remains and her belongings, right? Mhm. And Leobert led them there, so it must be him, right? Well, Leobert's attorney came out to say that.

whenever Leobert was talking and guiding. officers to the evidence, Leobert would. look at the officer waiting for some. kind of sign or go ahead or some sort of. signal. At this point in the case, people didn't. really know what to believe. Netizens. were even questioning if they had gone. too deep down into the conspiracy rabbit. hole, and they were just trying to. create the most insane narrative of. things now. People didn't know, are we crazy? Is the. police crazy? Or is this is this real? Cuz you know, sometimes. things happen that are so sick and.

twisted, it almost feels like a. conspiracy when you start thinking about. it. People wanted answers or at least. some clarity. Another person that could. have that is Jovert, the other person. involved in the crime, the other cousin. Now, he hadn't been as involved in this. investigation thus far because he was. hospitalized for accidentally stabbing. himself. A radio show tracked him down. in the hospital and asked for an. interview. Their aim was to just get to. the bottom of the mystery, answer all. the unrelenting questions, tell us why. did you do it, what happened, tell us. the truth.

But in reality, all it did, all this. interview did was muddy the waters even. more. Jovert was so emotional during his. interview. He stated that none of it was. true, none of it. Even the accidental. stabbing, none of it had to do with. Jovelyn.

And you got stabbed? Then. why did you accidentally stab yourself? I confronted Leobert about the rumors, rumors that he was trying to hit on my. wife. I was drunk, I confronted him, and. he looked me in the eye, and you know. what he said? He got defensive. He said, "Hey, you better be careful about making. accusations like that.". And I started getting angry. I I got. into a fit of anger, and I was drunk. I. grabbed the knife. I pointed at him. I demanded he take me seriously. Just. answer the question, that's all I wanted.

from him. And then I end up in the. hospital and charged with the murder of. my cousin. I mean, I have no involvement. in my cousin's disappearance. I loved. her. I can't comprehend why I'm even. being connected to the case. He talks about how he has a criminal. history, and yeah, he might have been. involved in some shady things in the. past like drugs, but this, he swears, he. swore up and down, "I truly had no part. in this. I cannot fathom what's being. thrust on me right now. This is the. honest truth. When Jovelyn went missing, I was at work with my managers. I can.

confirm that. They can confirm that. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever. imagine taking a person's life or even. committing such a despicable act of. sexual assault. Please, you have to. believe me.". August 30th, 2022, a few days after. Jovelyn's supposed remains were found, a. DNA test was released by the police to. the public stating that the remains did. indeed belong to Jovelyn. With this, the police formally charged. Leobert and Jovert of and homicide. Now, most of the charges did rely on.

Leobert's confession and narrative. The. police completely brushed off Jovert's. claims of innocence and stated that. the thing that he said about work, it's. just him trying to create an alibi. What. do you mean? That even raised eyebrows, exactly what you said. Either he lied. about his alibi or he didn't. Like what. does it mean when you say it's an. attempt at him creating an alibi? Was he. or was he not at work? Like it just felt. like the police were being roundabout. for no reason. You could literally just. say he lied, he wasn't at work. But they. were like, "That's his attempt at.

creating an alibi.". It was really strange that the police. kept taking these convoluted routes with. this investigation. It felt like they. refused to investigate or even entertain. Jovert's claims and simply focused on. what Leobert said. And just before Leobert was officially. taken into custody, Jovelyn's mother, filled with a mix of anger and. confusion, confronted him, and she. screamed and demanded answers. She. asked, "How could you commit such a. crime against your own cousin, your own. flesh and blood? How can you live with. yourself?".

Leobert turned around, and he cried, and. said that he was coerced by the chief of. the city's anti-crime organization, Richard Ligad. He begged his aunt to. believe him. He cried out, "You know me. You know me. You know that's not me. You. know I could never do this. Please, I. didn't do it, Auntie. You have to. believe me. I didn't kill Jovelyn. I was. forced to take the blame. Please, you. have to believe me. I didn't have. anything to do with it at all. You've. known me since I was a kid. You know. what kind of person I am. Please, I. would never do something like that.". Wait, wait, wait, what?

She was so taken aback by his words. She. was torn between her desire to believe. him because she doesn't want to believe. that someone she trusted, her own flesh. and blood as well, could do something. like this to her child. But then there was so much. circumstantial evidence against him, and. you know, she did think back to all. those great moments of Leobert and their. family, and it was just so hard to. accept that he could have done something. like this. She tried to get some clarity. She spoke.

with him while he was in jail. And later, Jovelyn's two sisters, Jocelyn and Jonelyn, would even go on. air with Raffy Tulfo to talk about what. was going on with their cousin, Leobert. Leobert had alleged that it wasn't just. the chief, Richard, that was trying to. get him to take the blame. Multiple. officers were heavily involved. Allegedly, they instructed him to point. at random locations, so they brought him. to like a a field. They were like, "Point in that direction.". And he would point in that direction. Creating the illusion that he was the. one that told them where the body was.

and where the belongings were. So, they. were just like using random clips of. him. Mhm. But, they just took him to a. predetermined spot and told him to. point. So, he did. And sure enough, her. body and belongings were found and he. said that he was gutted and shocked, but. also terrified because that just made. him look like the guiltiest man alive. Allegedly, Lieobert only complied with. Richard and the police because they kept. threatening his family. The sisters were. able to record a conversation with. Lieobert and he does in fact seem. terrified for his life. He stated how. Richard told them exactly how to respond.

he would ask, but he also alleged that. Richard physically abused him when he. didn't do what it was asked of him. He. sent the sisters pictures of scars and. bruises all over his body.

Were you called or you were there. voluntarily?

Sir? No August 22?

Sir? Hello, sir. Yes. Uh.

Okay. So, you were called some. Okay.

Very sensational it was. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Were Were you trained on that aspect in. terms of investigation in gathering. information.

Okay. responded to Lieobert's change in. attitude by stating, "We have his. confession where he admitted to. committing the crime with Jovelyn. That. is the information we currently have and. we're going to rely on it. If there are. claims of additional individuals. involved in the crime, we will conduct a. thorough investigation into that. matter.". Wow, this is so shady. I don't think. anyone was satisfied with that response. It felt like the entire case and the. entire investigation, the police just. kept taking the scenic easy route. They.

didn't even care to investigate. They. just wanted to say, "Oh, well, that's. what we have. So, even if it's not true, that's what we have, so we're going to. stick with it." The lack of. transparency, the inconsistencies. throughout the investigation made it. difficult to even have faith in the. authorities. The family ended up. reaching out to the National Bureau of. Investigations, the NBI, to help assist. with the police and getting justice. Honestly, they just wanted another DNA. test. I think they just wanted to make. sure the police weren't lying and that.

indeed Jovelyn's body. I don't think any. family could live on comfortably knowing. that they were skeptical of something. like this and I think it would just. drive people crazy. The NBI started their own investigation. parallel to the police and in the end, the NBI's results were the same as the. police. They confirmed it was Jovelyn's remains. It said Jovelyn's family was um feeling. a mix of relief and sorrow. The NBI experts did what the police.

failed at doing, which was giving the. family a reason on how that happened. They said the weather conditions played. a big role. Additionally, they stated. the presence of crocodiles in the area. could have accelerated her soft tissue. decomp. It seems like Jovelyn's family. were satisfied with the response. Many. people in the public were not. They. brought up a few things that didn't. track. For example, if there were crocodiles, how come there was no blood stains in. the grass? If you're saying the. crocodiles came to consume her remains, there must be traces of either bodily. fluids or even tissue left behind cuz a. lot of the times they'll take remains to.

a secondary location to eat consume. But, the entire area seemed pretty. clean. Another reporter, Tommy Abab. stated, "There is a recurring phenomenon. where authorities attempt to conceal the. truth by targeting vulnerable. individuals and forcing them to shoulder. the blame for crimes they didn't commit. They employ tactics of intimidation, issue death threats, instill fear by. involving family members if they refuse. to cooperate and confess.". So, a lot of people agreed with him. They stated, "None of it makes sense. Even Jovelyn's remains that were or.

belongings that were found, they looked. very dry, like her wallet, her ID. It I. mean, if her body decomposed at that. rate, her belongings just look so fine. Just didn't make sense. It looked like. they had been tossed in the grass that. morning." There was another moment that. stood out and allegedly during an. interaction between an officer and. Lieobert that was caught on tape. The. officer asked Lieobert, "Where is. Jovelyn's necklace?" Lieobert seemed. genuinely confused, but not confused in. the sense of like, "Oh, shoot, I forgot. to hide her necklace." But, confused in. like, "Uh wait, there was a necklace?".

Almost as in like, "Nobody told me about. the necklace. Like, I don't. know about a necklace.". People took it as maybe this guy has no. idea what's going on. Maybe he's being. fed information to repeat, but he has no. insider information. Everything he is. saying, maybe it's just what he's told. to say and when they go off script, he. has no idea what's going on because he. didn't commit the crime. You know how I. said the family seemed to somewhat. accept that those were Jovelyn's remains. that were found? Mhm. That doesn't mean. that they were believing whatever the.

NBI or the police were saying. In fact, many of the family members were. conflicted on how to handle Lieobert's. claims of innocence now. Some of the family members reached out. to a local congressman to help pay for. Lieobert's bail. It's not clear how much. the bail was, but the congressman agreed. to pay for it and he said that he has no. opinion in the case, he just wanted to. help someone. Meanwhile, Jovelyn took a. polygraph on Raffy's show and he passed. with flying colors. Lieobert did not. So, it's kind of a show. Yeah, wow.

So, wow. So, that fuels the conspiracy. even more. Yes, of like, "Okay, now. there's a conspiracy that only Lieobert. was involved. He's dragging his cousin. into it for no reason." Then there's the. conspiracy of neither of them were. involved or there's the conspiracy of. maybe Lieobert tested and failed the. polygraph because he has been so. convinced and so, I guess mentally abused by the police, he doesn't even know what's true. anymore. Cuz that's what happens. There's false confessions where a lot of. criminals start believing in.

"Wait, did I actually do that?". Mhm. The police are saying that they. have all the evidence. and they're playing out these scenes and. I can picture it in my head and it. almost feels like I did that then. On. November 25th, 2022, the country woke up. to news that the court had dismissed. charges against Jovelyn and Lieobert. The court stated that they could not. establish a direct link between the. individuals in question and the crime. No way. They're freed? Yeah. I mean, I imagine this was very. confusing for Jovelyn's family. Like,

there must be some members who believe. in Lieobert's innocence, but still want. justice. it's open again, right? case is open again, but it doesn't look. like the police are making progress or. at least that they're not letting us. know if they're making progress. So, it. does seem like Jovelyn's family, they. accept that Jovelyn is dead. They want. everyone to accept that she's dead, but. they it does seem like they still want. justice. They have come out with a. statement and stated, "Uh we do. appreciate that everyone still hopes.

that Jovelyn is alive and we fully. understand why it might be hard to. accept, especially since we were only. given skeletal remains and nothing more. But the experts provided good. explanation and reasoning as to why her. bones are left. We should respect this. as they are professionals and they are. doing their job." Now again, I think. this part a lot of people took it as, "Oh, like now the family is in it with. the police, right?" No, I think when. there's an open investigation, as much. as you hate the police for their. incompetence, to a degree the families.

of victims have to please the police. to a certain level in hopes that they. will investigate your loved one's death. You cannot piss off the only people that. have the power to bring you justice. right now. It's kind of with this Hawara. tragedy, you know, like all the victims'. parents, they were still hopeful that. the president could do something, so. they still, regardless of their. political beliefs, regardless of her. job in handling the situation, they had. to still be nice to her and they still. had to talk with her and beg her in a.

kind manner instead of demanding things. from her because. she might be the only one that could. help. That's kind of I think how this. situation is. They stated, "We're hoping. that all of you can respect and accept. the truth for our sake and our peace and. so you can join us in praying for. Jovelyn. We know the results are hard to. accept, but we believe the PNP and the. NBI did their job well in conducting the. investigation." They went on to thank. the media for the coverage and helping. in investigating. They ended the letter. with, "Our last wish is that we all keep. our minds open and embrace the. possibility that Jovelyn is really gone.

Let's all learn to accept this and. and be understanding about the whole. ordeal.". For now, we may not be able to. understand everything about what. happened and why it had to happen, but. we just need to trust the process and. have faith that God went through this. with us from the beginning until the. end. So it doesn't seem like the case itself. is closed, but um. I have genuinely no idea. what to even think. The deeper I go down. this rabbit hole, the less I understand.

about this case. And I feel like I. haven't I haven't researched a lot of. those cases in a while where I'm like, "The more I know, the less I know." I. genuinely have no stance on what. happened because I'm so confused. And. it's just a case that has frustrated a. lot of netizens and more than anything, I think the only thing that I can take. away from this case, or one of the very. few things, is I think this showcases just how. little trust that people have in. authorities these days. To no fault of. our own, it's just become harder and. harder to take the authorities' words.

for things. I think humans, we just want proof now. And I think maybe the police should kind. of learn from that. And it's just it's. scary, it's disheartening, and I'm glad. that the family was able to find some. closure that they need to move on from. all of this, but that is all we have for. today. Let me know your thoughts in the. comments. Please stay safe and I will see you guys. on Sunday for the mini sode.