A Brutal End in a Shallow Creek: The Murder of Palawan College Student Jeemaryie Misajon 😔

Under the harsh light of day, just before noon, the lifeless body of a young woman was discovered in a local creek.

She was found after an agonizing three-hour search, which began when she disappeared after telling her mother she was going to do laundry.

Her skull and jaw were shattered from being bludgeoned. This was the horrific end for a young woman who was just trying to wash clothes.

The victim was identified as 19-year-old Jeemaryie Misajon, a resident of the area.

A Life of Promise

Barangay Salvacion in Roxas, Palawan, is a small community. Large parts of it are still covered in green, dense forests and farmlands.

It was in this place that Jeemaryie Misajon was born and raised. She was the fifth child among her siblings, born on March 26, 2006.

The quiet hamlet of Sitio Katleya witnessed the simple and happy life of her family.

From a young age, Jeemaryie possessed an angelic face, long, dark hair, and a beautiful figure.

Beyond her beauty, she was also blessed with intelligence. She was consistently at the top of her class, frequently bringing academic honors home to her family.

Because of this, even though their life was difficult, her siblings worked together to support her education.

Just as Jeemaryie was finishing senior high school, her father passed away. She feared she would not be able to attend college.

Despite this setback, her family did everything to ensure she would not have to stop her studies.

With the help of her older siblings, Jeemaryie continued her education, enrolling in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program in the town of Roxas.

Because her school was far from their home, she stayed in a dormitory in town and only came home on weekends and holidays.

The Day of the Disappearance

Her family described her as a kind, obedient, and reliable young woman.

Her siblings provided for all her needs, especially for her education. “She was very good. We had no problems with her. We gave her everything she wanted,” her sibling shared.

Because her final semester had just ended, Jeemaryie returned to her home in Sitio Katleya on May 22, 2025, for her vacation.

This was the only time she was able to help her mother and siblings with household chores.

The next morning, May 23, 2025, the young woman told her mother she was going to do laundry at the creek, which was not far from their house.

This creek served as the communal washing area for the residents, where they also rinsed their clothes.

Carrying the clothes to be washed, Jeemaryie left their house at exactly 8:00 in the morning.

After finishing her own chores an hour later, her mother, Merlina, followed her to the creek to help her daughter with the laundry.

According to Nanay Merlina, she was surprised when she arrived at the creek because her daughter was not there.

However, the clothes she had been washing were still there.

Thinking they might have just missed each other and that her daughter had gone back to the house, she continued washing the remaining clothes.

She was slightly puzzled because the scrub brush they used for laundry was also missing.

“At 8:00, my sister went to the river to do laundry. My mom told her to go ahead and that she would follow. Mom was delayed because she was still busy at the house, so she followed around 9:00.”

“When she got there, she saw only one piece of my sister’s laundry left. She noticed the jacket my sister was washing seemed to have fallen out of the basin.”

“She didn’t think much of it and continued washing her own clothes. When mom was about to finish, she thought they had just missed each other and that my sister went home to use the comfort room.”

“After a while, she wondered why my sister hadn’t come back yet.”

The Frantic Search

She decided to check for her at their house, but she wasn’t there, and her younger sibling hadn’t seen her either. This is when the panic began.

She tried to find her at another child’s house, hoping Jeemaryie was just playing with her nieces and nephews, but she was not there either. No one knew where she had gone.

They began to panic and asked the neighbors for help. Merlina returned to the river but still could not find her daughter.

Instead, they found only one piece of her slipper in the grassy area nearby.

While searching, some neighbors suggested that Nanay Merlina go to a faith healer, or albularyo, in their area to help them.

Because it was a rural province, many residents still believed in traditional healers and seers.

Since they had nothing to lose and were desperate to find Jeemaryie, Nanay Merlina brought a photograph of her daughter and went to the healer.

Meanwhile, the neighbors, relatives, and Jeemaryie’s siblings continued the search.

After some rituals, the healer told them that Jeemaryie was still in the river and had perhaps been eaten by a crocodile.

This was a puzzle to them, as in all their time living there, they had never heard of a crocodile in that river. Besides, the water was very shallow.

Nevertheless, they returned to the river and continued searching. Their shouts of the missing girl’s name echoed back at them, but she was nowhere to be found.

A Horrific Discovery

The search continued until 11:00 in the morning, three hours after Jeemaryie had left her home.

One of the searchers decided to climb a high, wooded area that overlooked the river below.

He had not been up there for long when he suddenly shouted. From his vantage point, he saw what they were all looking for.

Just a few meters away from where Jeemaryie’s laundry was left, they found her body, face down under the water, weighed down by bamboo.

Believing she might still be alive, they quickly pulled her body from the water, but it was too late. Her body was already stiff.

Her stomach was also bloated from being submerged for so long. They were even more devastated when they saw the wounds and bruises on her face.

They all had a strong feeling that this was a case of foul play, so they immediately called the police.

“We helped search, just me and her two siblings, three of us, just going in circles, searching,” one relative said.

“I kept calling her name, ‘Marie, come out!’ But no one answered. Then one neighbor went up the embankment, and that’s when he saw her. He was up high.”

“I went to the river… I went up high… I passed by the side of the river, and when I looked down into the water, I saw her immediately.”

The Investigation

The authorities arrived and began their investigation. At first, they had two theories: one, an accident, and two, foul play.

The second theory was stronger because the river where the body was found was shallow. It was only knee-deep on the victim.

There was also no strong current, so it was impossible for her to have drowned accidentally.

To be certain, they subjected Jeemaryie’s body to a post-mortem examination, where they confirmed that foul play was involved.

Based on the autopsy results, Jeemaryie sustained severe wounds and bruises on the side of her face.

This was caused by a strong blow from a hard object, which dislocated the young woman’s jaw. Aside from this, she also had abrasions.

However, according to the doctor who performed the post-mortem, the impact to her head was not enough to cause immediate death.

They found water in her lungs, so it is highly probable that after being struck, the young woman was drowned in the river before the suspect left her.

Her body was found face down, with her knees bent, and the bamboo was placed on her back, which is why she did not float and was difficult to find.

At the crime scene, police recovered a hard piece of wood, which is the suspected murder weapon.

Based on the autopsy results, they formally treated the case as murder, although the victim was not sexually assaulted.

According to police, because of Jeemaryie’s beautiful face and figure, the motive was likely lust.

The suspect might have seen an opportunity when he saw the victim alone. The creek was far from the houses and surrounded by dense vegetation.

The suspect likely attacked, but the young woman fought back, which is why the suspect killed her.

The Reenactment and Suspect

On June 2, 2025, a reenactment was conducted by the Roxas Municipal Police Station, the Provincial Police Office, barangay officials, and Jeemaryie’s family.

Using a mannequin, they returned to the crime scene and simulated the possible events based on the evidence.

According to the police reenactment, while the young woman was washing clothes, the suspect approached her.

When he tried to talk to her, she may have felt uncomfortable and tried to leave.

When the suspect grabbed her, she fought back, which is why the suspect hit her in the head with the piece of wood.

When she lost consciousness, he carried her body from the washing area to a deeper part of the river not far away.

While he was carrying her, one of her slippers fell off.

Upon reaching the dense part of the river, the simulation suggested that the young woman was likely still alive and was assaulted again, but she fought back.

This is when the suspect drowned her in the water, which is why her face was submerged and her knees were bent when she was found.

When she finally stopped breathing, the suspect weighed her body down with bamboo to keep it from floating.

Jeemaryie was a kind, friendly, and quiet girl with no known enemies, making it a puzzle as to who could have committed this crime.

Furthermore, almost everyone in the community knew each other.

They also learned that the young woman had a boyfriend, but he lived in the town proper, far from the area, and their chat logs showed no signs of conflict.

A Person of Interest

After a few days, one person became suspicious. According to the family, when Jeemaryie’s father passed away two years ago, this man was always visiting them.

He was close to the family, and they knew him well.

But strangely, since Jeemaryie disappeared, he never visited them. He did not even show up to her wake.

This sudden avoidance made them suspicious, and he became a person of interest.

“We have taken statements from our witnesses,” the police stated. “Our investigation is pointing to this person of interest, who was a close neighbor, treated like family.”

“They are wondering why, after the incident, he didn’t even show up at their house or offer any help. Instead, he just left his house. We personally interviewed him.”

“Despite witness statements of his presence in the area, he forcefully denies it.”

According to the police, they are 80% complete with gathering the necessary evidence and information.

They want to be certain before filing the case so that their efforts do not go to waste.

Jeemaryie was laid to rest at the Salvacion Public Cemetery. She was in her second year of college and had many dreams, including helping her mother and younger siblings.

Now, none of those dreams will come true.

“I really cannot accept what happened to her, even now. I never imagined this would happen to her… she was so devout, always in church, always at school,” a family member cried.

“She even told me, ‘I have a gift for you, I passed all my exams.’ I said that was great. I hope she gets justice. She was defenseless.”

“I hope whoever did this is caught soon… I hope they grow a conscience.”

As of now, her loved ones continue to call for and hope for the day they will finally achieve justice for Jeemaryie.