Before the case concerning the death of Reah Mae Tocmo was completely concluded, another incident sparked outrage among Cebuanos: the death of a student in Toledo City, Cebu.

Toledo City became a chartered city on January 6, 1961. It is divided into 38 barangays and is located 67 kilometers from Cebu City.

Toledo is known for its extensive mining industry, owned by Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation, the umbrella company for Carmen Copper Corporation and its Toledo mine.

Just in recent weeks, another incident has been intensely discussed on social media: the painful death of a young woman in Toledo.

Let us revisit the events surrounding the tragic fate of Sharmaine Flores.

The Discovery of the Body

On the morning of August 25, 2023, the police station in Toledo City received a report about a woman’s body found in Barangay Bunga, Toledo City, located in the central-western part of Cebu.

When they arrived at the area, they found the woman’s body in a horrifying state. According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Manolo Salvatiera, the Chief of Police of the Toledo City Police Station, the body had no covering on the lower part of her body.

She had numerous wounds and scratches on her body, indicating that the victim fought back. They also found large bite marks on her cheeks.

The victim was identified as 17-year-old Sharmaine Flores, a Grade 12 scholar at Pao Excelencia Global Academy Foundation Incorporated in Toledo City.

According to the report, the young woman was last seen alive at 6:40 PM on August 24, 2023, when she told her mother she was going to a store to have her phone loaded with credits, but she never returned home.

Initially, the family thought she might have gone to the residence of the nuns where she worked every Saturday. The nuns were sponsoring her as a scholar, and they assumed she might have gone there to claim her allowance.

However, as darkness completely enveloped the surroundings and she still had not returned home, the family decided to search for her.

Joined by some family members and relatives, they began searching for Sharmaine around 9 PM. Sharmaine’s mother first went to the store where her daughter was supposed to load her phone.

There, they learned that the young woman had indeed gone there for a load but left immediately around 7 PM, taking the dark path back to their residence.

The road between Sharmaine’s house and the store was dark and had no houses along the way. If one walked at a normal pace, the store could be reached in five to seven minutes.

During their search, they became more worried when Sharmaine’s 13-year-old younger brother and a cousin found her slipper in a bushy part of the area, but they did not find the young woman.

They continued searching until the sun rose the following day, where they finally found Sharmaine’s lifeless body in the overgrown part of the area.

Identifying the Suspect

The police faced difficulty because there was no closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the area. They took a chance that someone might have witnessed the events of the previous night.

In their questioning, several witnesses came forward and provided their statements. Some pointed to a man they saw on the night the crime occurred: 29-year-old farmer Jonathan Dela Serna Sugabo, alias Etan, who was also a resident of the area.

The following day, August 26, 2023, the police invited the person of interest, Sugabo, to the police station for questioning. This was after his name was mentioned by several witnesses who reportedly saw the man at the crime scene on the night of August 24, 2023, smoking a cigarette.

The police’s suspicion grew stronger when they noticed wounds and scratches on Sugabo’s body.

In the interview, Sugabo denied any involvement in the incident. He admitted that he was seen at the crime scene on the night of August 24, 2023, claiming that was the route he usually took home.

He claimed he was passing through to go to a motorcycle repair shop where he was meeting a man. When asked where he got the scratches and wounds on his knees and arms, he said he sustained them while working on the farm.

He also admitted to the police that he used illegal drugs, claiming it gave him extra energy for his work. However, he claimed he did not use any on the day of his arrest but admitted to using it on Wednesday, two days before Sharmaine Flores’s lifeless body was found.

Meanwhile, another habal-habal driver approached the police station and provided his statement. He claimed he drove Sugabo twice on the night of August 24.

He also noticed that Sugabo seemed anxious and restless, and he saw red stains on his hands.

Sharmaine’s sister also told the police that she once saw the suspect send a message to her sister, Sharmaine. However, she did not know what the message contained but noticed her sister’s dismayed and negative reaction to the message.

Sharmaine’s mother had also noticed the suspect giving her daughter strange looks every time they saw the man. This made her strongly believe he was the one who killed Sharmaine.

However, Sugabo denied having any romantic interest in the victim. The police also recovered a screwdriver from Sugabo, which they suspected he used in the crime.

Based on the circumstantial evidence and the testimonies of the witnesses, the police arrested Jonathan Sugabo and named him the suspect in Sharmaine Flores’s death.

The arrest of Sugabo led to a heated encounter between Sharmaine’s family and the suspect’s family when they met at the precinct. The suspect’s family believed he had no involvement.

Forensic Evidence and Charges

Jonathan Sugabo was immediately subjected to a medical examination. The results showed that the suspect had several bruises on his forehead, right thigh, right and left knees, and the back of his neck.

He also had fresh wounds and scratches on various parts of his body, consistent with the victim fighting back. They also subjected the suspect to a swab test, which would be used for DNA testing.

Meanwhile, the autopsy conducted on the victim’s body revealed that she died from strangulation and showed positive signs of lacerations in her private parts.

Consequently, on August 29, 2023, even before the DNA test results were released, Jonathan Sugabo, alias Etan, was formally charged with murder and rape at the Toledo City Prosecutor’s Office.

Sharmaine’s mother served as the complainant in the case. Sugabo is currently detained at the Toledo Police Station awaiting hearings.

Sharmaine Flores was laid to rest on September 3, 2023, accompanied by her family, relatives, and those who loved her.

Sharmaine was a kind daughter, the only girl among seven siblings. Her dream was to finish her studies and become a doctor or nurse someday.

She did not entertain suitors because she was focused on her studies, especially since she was a scholar and needed to maintain high grades. The young woman rarely left their house except to go to school and work during non-class days.

Her father expressed his sorrow and sought justice, saying he only wanted his only daughter to succeed.