On August 3, 2025, another innocent child became the victim of a brutal murder in Novaliches, Quezon City.

Nine-year-old Kaykay was found lifeless in a vacant lot after being reported missing, an incident that forces one to question the truth of the saying, “The youth is the hope of the nation.”

The child, a nine-year-old girl, was found dead in a vacant lot in Quezon City.

On August 3, 2025, the citizens of Novaliches, Quezon City, were shocked. The lifeless body of nine-year-old Kyle Joan Lopez, or Kaykay, was found.

According to Kaykay’s family, Saturday, August 2, 2025, was a non-school day. Kaykay spent the day at home.

At 2:00 p.m., she asked permission to play with her childhood friends outside their house. CCTV footage captured Kaykay leaving the door.

Unbeknownst to her family, this would be the last time they would see their daughter alive. By late afternoon, she suddenly vanished, and no one knew where she had gone.

Her mother became worried when she didn’t see Kaykay among the group of children playing on the street. They began searching for her, but no one present could tell them where Kaykay had gone.

She was not at any relatives’ houses either, so they decided to seek help from barangay officials, who immediately assisted in the search for the child.

Their worry intensified as darkness began to fall, and Kaykay still hadn’t returned home. The family appealed on social media for anyone who might have seen Kaykay.

The family even offered a reward ranging from P10,000 to P30,000 to anyone who could return the child to her parents.

They circulated Kaykay’s photo online. According to the post, Kaykay was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, brown shorts, and white slippers.

They also created a page titled “Help Us Find Kay Kai,” which quickly gained 174 followers, mostly residents of Novaliches.

Kaykay’s family stayed awake and restless the entire night due to extreme worry. They held onto the slim hope that the child would return home.

They searched every corner of Barangay Sta. Lucia, Baluyot Subdivision, and playgrounds, but failed to find any clue leading to the child’s whereabouts.

The next day, Sunday, August 3, 2025, they resumed the search. This time, they were assisted by the police and barangay officials.

To find Kaykay, they began going house-to-house, appealing to all homes and establishments with external CCTV cameras installed.

They hoped that through the footage, they could determine where Kaykay had gone. They were not disappointed, as they managed to obtain footage of the child’s last moments.

In one footage, they saw Kaykay walking along the roadside. She was being followed by a teenage boy.

They immediately located the 13-year-old teenager, and because he was a minor, he was accompanied by his aunt to the barangay office, where the barangay captain interviewed him.

During the conversation with the teenager, he immediately admitted to being the last person with Kaykay. However, when asked where he took the child, he provided conflicting statements.

At first, the family felt a moment of relief, thinking Kaykay might still be alive. Accompanied by barangay officials, they retraced the route the two children last took, based on the CCTV footage.

They stopped several times, persistently questioning the teenager about where he truly took Kaykay. The family’s anxiety grew, as it was already afternoon, and the sun would soon set again.

Before they could reach the location the teenager finally pointed to, they were met with loud cries and wails. Kaykay’s father had already found her body.

The moment the poor child’s body was found was captured on video, though I will not show the footage due to its extreme distress. Around 5:00 p.m., Kaykay’s body was found in a vacant lot in Barangay Sta. Lucia.

The lot was surrounded by high walls and had a locked steel gate. Beside it were lush banana trees, grass, and plants. This is where they found the missing child.

In Barangay Sta. Lucia, Novaliches, Quezon City, the body of a young girl was found. She was 9 years old.

Right in that corner of the wall, the child’s body was discovered. Kaykay’s father immediately wrapped his daughter in a blanket, embraced her, and carried her in his arms.

It was a scene that would move anyone to tears. You could feel the immense pain of a father holding the lifeless body of his child in his arms.

“Who will message me? Who will voice message ‘Papa I love you?’ Who will ask me what time I’m coming home when I’m at work? She would remind me, ‘Papa, pasalubong (gift),’ always with a voice message. ‘Take care. Love you.’ That’s how it was.”

“When I saw her, I immediately thought it should have been done to him. Not to my daughter, she’s so young,” the father lamented.

The police report indicated that Kaykay’s body was found unclothed, leading investigators to initially suspect a case of rape and murder.

The body was subsequently subjected to a post-mortem examination or autopsy, and the results confirmed that young Kaykay was indeed a victim of sexual assault.

The suspect’s initial statement to the police was that he merely strangled her. “He just choked her. When she lost consciousness, that’s where the unimaginable happened,” an officer recounted.

The suspect claimed he choked Kaykay until she lost consciousness before carrying out his intention. This fact puzzled the investigators.

The suspect’s body build was small. Kaykay, at nine, was a healthy child. The location where the body was found was surrounded by high walls and the gate was padlocked.

It seemed impossible for the teenager to carry the victim there alone. “There’s a gate there that is locked. That is one of the things our police are considering—that the 13-year-old may not have been able to bring the child inside alone because he is small,” an officer explained.

Therefore, they do not yet consider the case solved and closed. They have not ruled out the possibility that the minor teenager was not the only one who committed the crime.

Because he is a minor, the teenager is currently under the care of the Molave Youth Home, awaiting the decision of the city prosecutor’s office.

This situation has ignited the anger of those who loved Kaykay. In a statement, the family conveyed their profound sorrow: “It is with deep sadness that we inform you that our beloved Kaykay has been found. However, she is no longer alive.”

“We sincerely thank everyone who helped in the search and ask for your prayers as we journey toward seeking justice for her. Farewell, our beloved Kaykay.”

Kaykay’s death has sown fear among the residents of Novaliches, prompting them to restrict their children and forbid them from leaving the house.

It is now rare to see children laughing and happily playing outside, out of fear that they might suffer Kaykay’s fate.

It is saddening that perpetrators involved in heinous crimes are getting younger. Senator Robin Padilla is now pushing for a proposal to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old for cases such as rape and murder.

During the celebration of the national language month this August, Dr. Jose Rizal’s famous quote—that the youth is the hope of the nation—is often recalled.

However, as time passes, the number of heinous crimes involving minors continues to grow. One is left to wonder if the saying that the youth is the hope of the nation still holds true.