MUMBAI: Former beauty queen and flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera was reportedly gangraped and murdered in the Philippines. Her body was found in the hotel room bathtub at the Garden City Grand Hotel in Makati on New Year's Day.

Christine was Miss Silva Davao 2017  runner-up and a finalist in Mutya ng Davao 2019.

Eleven men have been 'provisionally' charged in the case. They were initially arrested but later released.

As per media reports in nzherald.co.nz, the Makati City Prosecutor's Office said "the pieces of evidence so far submitted are insufficient to establish that (Ms Dacera) was sexually assaulted or raped".

However, the lawyer for Dacera's family  averred that they believe that she was drugged and abused before her death. 

Claims were that Ms Dacera "had already experienced intoxication and complained that her drinks appeared to have been spiked" during the New Year's celebrations. 

"We also believe that maybe the aneurysm was a proximate cause but it is also very possible it was triggered by the assault prior to her death," the family’s lawyer, Brick Reyes, said, according to The Inquirer.

Credits: DNA