Murder of the Maguad siblings

Background

The victims, Crizzlle Gwynn Maguad and Crizvlle Louis "Boyboy" Orbe Maguad, were the biological children of Cruz and Lovella Maguad, both public school teachers, living in Barangay Bagontapay, M'lang, Cotabato, Philippines. Crizzlle Gwynn, 18, was a nursing student at the University of Southern Mindanao; Crizvlle Louis, 16, was a Grade 10 student at M'lang National High School. In July 2021, the family took in a 16-year-old working student, Janice Sebial Emuelin, from Kidapawan, who had been introduced to them by Gwynn through church activities. Sebial had earlier been involved in an alleged theft of over ₱10,000 from the family, but Gwynn forgave her and persuaded her parents to let her remain in the household.

Killing

On December 10, 2021, at around 2:00 PM, Cruz Maguad was alerted by a neighbor to unusual activity at the residence. He arrived to find both children dead: Crizvlle Louis had been gagged, bound, and beaten to death, while Crizzlle Gwynn had sustained 32 stab wounds. Household items — a knife, baseball bat, hammer, and machete — had been used in the attack. Janice, the only survivor in the home, initially claimed masked men had entered and attacked the siblings while she hid in the bathroom, and posted a Facebook status during the incident asking for help.

Investigation

Investigators found no signs of forced entry, and Janice's shifting online behavior, including changes to her Facebook profile, raised suspicion. Police recovered bloodstained clothing near an irrigation canal, and fingerprints on the weapons matched Janice. On December 16, 2021, she confessed to orchestrating the killings out of jealousy and resentment toward her adopted siblings, and named a co-conspirator, a fellow minor described as an altar boy. Both were arrested and placed under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Legal proceedings

Although both suspects were minors, prosecutors determined that Sebial had acted with discernment, permitting a murder charge under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (Republic Act No. 9344). On May 17, 2022, the Regional Trial Court Branch 16 in Kabacan, Cotabato, presided over by Judge Alandrex Betoya, found Sebial and her co-accused guilty of murdering the Maguad siblings. The court held that both minors had acted with discernment and sentenced each to an indefinite term of 22 to 37 years' imprisonment, citing the calculated nature of the crime and the betrayal of family trust. Both were placed under DSWD custody for rehabilitation.

Public reaction and media adaptation

The case prompted the hashtag #JusticeForMaguadSiblings to trend on Philippine social media, along with public sympathy for the parents and concern over informal adoption and child welfare practices. Officials and public figures visited the family, and a ₱500,000 reward was offered for information. In May 2025, ABS-CBN's drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya dramatized the case in a two-part episode, prompting a network statement addressing concerns from the adoption and foster care community about stereotyping of adopted children.