Tarangnan, Samar, Philippines – In the chilling spirit of the Halloween season, we delve into the deeply disturbing story behind a video that has gripped the public imagination: the alleged possession of a young woman by the soul of her murdered cousin, seemingly determined to speak from beyond the grave. The video, reportedly capturing the victim’s spirit speaking through her relative, is linked to a heinous crime that shattered the peace of a quiet community in Samar earlier this year.

The Unthinkable Crime in Tarangnan

On Saturday, March 2, 2024, an appalling crime sent shockwaves through the usually tranquil Barangay Kanunghan in Tarangnan, Samar. Police received a frantic call from the village captain, reporting a grim discovery in a dense coconut grove not far from the coast.

Special Weapons and Tactics (SOCO) teams immediately responded, taking tissue samples from the scene for DNA analysis. However, the full extent of the tragedy began to unfold the very next day. Before dawn, a fisherman spotted a sack floating in the sea, approximately 300 meters from the initial discovery site. Upon inspection, he made a horrifying discovery: inside the sack was a badly burned human torso. Shocked and terrified, the fisherman immediately sought help, leading to another police investigation.

The subsequent investigation painted a horrifying picture of the victim’s final moments. The victim was not only murdered but had been raped, brutally burned, and then discarded in the sea. The body was almost unrecognizable due to the severe burns covering her face and body. Investigators confirmed the victim was female, and found that the sack containing her head and body had been weighted down with stones to prevent it from floating—a futile effort, as the body resurfaced during low tide.

Identifying the Victim: Joy Digno

The community was consumed by fear and speculation. Through meticulous investigation and questioning, police soon identified the victim as Joy Digno, a woman who had been reported missing in the village. At 31 years old, Joy was the only daughter among her siblings, cherished as the “princess” of her family.

According to her younger brother, Joy was kind, quiet, and known to be non-confrontational. Having grown up in simple circumstances, she was only able to finish high school, but she harbored dreams like any young person. To help her struggling parents, she chose to enter the workforce instead of pursuing college.

It was at one of her jobs that she met the man who would become her partner and the father of her two young sons, who became her inspiration. Though lacking in wealth, the couple sustained their small, happy family through hard work and unity. Joy’s partner worked to provide for their needs, while Joy became a full-time housewife. Once the children were old enough for school, Joy sought extra income by taking on part-time work at a fish pond, managing to contribute to the family’s expenses while still caring for her children.

Joy’s world revolved around her family: dropping off and picking up her children, cooking, doing laundry, and supporting her partner. Her sole ambition was to ensure her sons would never endure the poverty she experienced and would eventually graduate and achieve a comfortable life. Tragically, a simple, everyday act—escorting her children to school—marked the beginning of her unimaginable end.

The Last Morning and the Fateful Path

On the morning of March 1, 2024, Joy followed her usual routine. After dropping off her children at school, she briefly visited her parents’ home for breakfast. After a short chat, she took the familiar, wooded path back to her own house. The path was usually quiet, disturbed only by birdsong and the rustle of leaves—an ordinary morning, which Joy could never have known was a trap. Someone with sinister intentions was waiting for her in that silence.

When Joy failed to return home by noon, her partner grew worried. Calls and texts went unanswered. He rushed to her parents’ house, but they, too, had no idea of her whereabouts. Worried sick, they reported her disappearance to the barangay officials. A search began, but yielded no immediate information.

Following the advice of the barangay captain, the case was brought to the police precinct. Initial investigation led them to a witness who claimed to have seen Joy on the wooded path heading home, but no one saw her after that. As the police tracked the route, they noticed drops of blood on the ground. Following the trail, they came upon smoke in the distance, which led them to a burning site. Upon closer inspection, they discovered burnt human remains—parts of an arm and a leg—and small bone fragments, indicating a gruesome act had taken place. This was immediately deemed a crime scene.

A Related Assault and the Suspect

The investigation deepened when police recalled a complaint filed by another woman in the same barangay around the time the body parts were found. Alias Jenny, an acquaintance of Joy, had filed a report about an attempted assault.

Jenny recounted that early one morning, a man entered her room while she was asleep and attempted to rape her. She managed to escape and identify the assailant as her neighbor, Diego Lentejas, a 33-year-old married fisherman who sometimes took on odd jobs.

When confronted by the barangay captain, Diego did not deny the attempted assault, claiming he was heavily intoxicated and couldn’t recall his actions. Despite her rage and fear, Jenny ultimately forgave him on the condition that he never approached or harassed her again. With no formal charges filed, Diego was released.

This decision proved to be a fatal mistake. The police immediately suspected that the same man Jenny had forgiven was the culprit behind Joy’s murder. Their suspicions were solidified when a witness came forward, reporting that they had seen Diego, drunk and disoriented, near the wooded path on the morning Joy went missing. Another resident reported hearing a woman’s scream for help emanating from the woods, but mistook it for a domestic dispute and ignored it—a decision they later regretted.

The Spectral Confession: A Victim Speaks

Amidst the growing investigation, a bizarre incident went viral, escalating the case from a local tragedy to a national spectacle. A video circulated on social media and the news, purportedly showing Joy’s soul possessing the body of her cousin in order to embrace her children one last time.

In the video, a voice, speaking in the local dialect and seemingly belonging to Joy, is heard weeping and expressing her unpreparedness to leave her children so suddenly. The most chilling part comes towards the end of the truncated video clip, where the alleged possessed voice tearfully recounts the crime, specifically mentioning: “I was raped,” and identifying the perpetrator. She also demanded justice and insisted that the suspect, Diego, be driven out of their community so she could finally rest in peace.

The Arrest and Confession

Armed with the public’s information and the chilling details from the video, police tracked down Diego. He was not at his home but was believed to be staying with a sibling in a nearby barangay. Authorities established checkpoints on all roads leading out of town.

It wasn’t long before Diego, riding a motorcycle, passed through one of the checkpoints. Identified through police photos, he was invited to the precinct for questioning. Though visibly nervous, he complied.

During the interrogation, Diego initially denied any involvement. However, confronted with the accumulating evidence and witness accounts, his composure broke. He eventually made a full confession, admitting to the brutal crime against Joy.

Diego recounted that he was drunk that morning and lay in wait along Joy’s path. When he encountered her, he attempted to harass her, but Joy resisted fiercely. As she struggled to break free and run, Diego struck her once in the back, causing her to fall and weaken from blood loss. He then admitted to sexually assaulting the still-conscious Joy until she eventually lost consciousness from the bleeding.

His depravity did not end there. Diego confessed that he then retrieved gasoline, poured it over Joy’s lifeless body, and set her on fire before leaving the scene.

Further investigation revealed a sickening timeline: Diego’s attempt on Jenny occurred early that morning. He returned home, was summoned to the barangay office, and upon release, rushed back to the crime scene, fearing discovery. Realizing the body was not completely incinerated, he cut off the limbs, placed the charred remains inside the sack, and weighed it down with stones before dumping it at the riverbank. His hasty departure from the barangay office was his frantic move to cover up the atrocity.

Based on his comprehensive confession, charges of murder and rape were filed against Diego Lentejas, with no bail recommended. He remains incarcerated, and due to the gravity of his offenses, his chances of release are slim.

Many in the community expressed relief at his capture, recognizing that individuals like Diego—waiting and lurking in seemingly peaceful environments—pose a constant danger. The tragedy of Joy Digno serves as a sobering reminder for everyone to remain vigilant and avoid walking alone, even in familiar places.