Childhood Friend turned Murderer

Last Thursday, a seventeen-year-old girl was found dead on the outskirts of my hometown. She was killed by a boy of the same age in an attempted rape. Both of them had graduated from the school where I work last year.

The boy and the girl had been close friends since primary school. There is no gainsaying that their relationship was akin to that of siblings.He is the son of a wealthy goldsmith while she was the daughter of a retired shell employer.The girl had a boyfriend whom the boy has known well.He has a girlfriend himself.

On that fateful morning, the unsuspecting victim asked the boy to take her back to the school. The SPM results had been released the day before and she was eager to collect her result slip. Having a different plan in mind, the boy took her to a remote place instead. There, he professed his long-concealed love to her. He hoped the girl would accept him as a boy friend but she told him that she was faithful to her boyfriend and that she did not wish to establish a love relationship with him. He could not stand being spurned and became furious. To salvage his pride, he decided to rape her. Horrified, the girl put up a frantic struggle. The more she resisted, the more violent he became. He punched her face and body so many times that she fainted. Thinking that she was dead, he carried her out of the car and put her into a dried-up ditch which ran through a grove of bushes. When he found out that she was still breathing, he stuffed her head in a plastic bag and finished her off by strangling her. Then, he rushed back home and pretended nothing had happened.

Seeing that their only daughter had not returned home even after midnight, the girl's worried parents came to the police station and reported her missing. Her twin brothers phoned anyone whom they could think of regarding her whereabouts. They also informed all their netizen friends on facebook about the news, hoping that they would help to search for their sister. The murderer was the first person whom the brothers had contacted but he told them that she had chosen to go home herself after collecting her result slip at school.

In spite of what he had done, the murderer went on with his usual routine as if nothing happened. He still took his girl friend to school early the next morning. Younger than the boy by one year, she happens to be studying in my school. Many teachers including me saw him standing outside the school hall during the morning roll call. Of course, we did not know what he had done the previous day. However, I intuitively felt that there was something wrong with him. He seemed to be in a daze. I had a strong urge to ask the boy if he was feeling all right but I held it back. I did not want to be perceived as a busybody.

Hours wore on and the boy could not stand the wear and tear of his gnawing guilt. He told his parents about the murder. I am sure they were thunderstruck beyond words to describe. So, around 12 noon, the boy's parents took him to the police station with their family lawyer. The police handcuffed the murderer and drove him back to the place where he had committed the crime. The victim's family had also been called to the scene of the murder. When they saw her sprawled lifelessly among bushes, they were devastated.

The cold-blooded murder shocked everyone in my hometown. It has been a headline news in every local newspaper for over a week. The murderer's girlfriend has not come to school until now because she fears that she may become a subject of ridicule and contempt. Many people loath the murderer and weep for the victim. We remember her as a bright, bubbly and friendly girl.

The girl was buried in a catholic cemetery two days ago. Many teachers and students of my school attended the funeral.