What was supposed to be a case of genuine love among biological siblings and their adopted sister ended up turning into a nightmare for the Maguad family. A brutal crime that no one could have imagined. Two bodies violently murdered inside the residence and one victim who managed to escape with her life. After all, what happened on that day, December 10, 2021? Why was only one life spared from death? That’s what you’ll follow in today’s case. Learn about the crime that shocked the Philippines and left a family devastated by the premature loss of their children.
Who were the Maguads
The Maguad family lived in M’lang, Philippines. Father Cruz Maguad was a high school teacher, and mother Lovella Maguad was a school director. They had a pair of biological children, 18-year-old Crizzlle Gwynn, an excellent student described as having a pure and kind heart, and 16-year-old Crizvlle Louis, a boy.
The Maguads were not wealthy, but they had good financial conditions and were enjoying a very happy moment in their lives, with their children grown and well-settled in their studies.
Who is Janice Sebial (or who she claimed to be)
Gwynn was already attending college when she met a 17-year-old girl named Janice Sebial. Janice worked for a couple who were friends of Gwynn’s parents. She confided in Gwynn, sharing that she was an orphan with no parents, growing up in foster homes. When her foster families no longer wanted her, she returned to the orphanage, and the cycle of suffering and rejection would begin anew. At 17, she landed a job with the couple, who allowed her to live in one of their house’s rooms. However, Janice still harbored fear that if the couple ever decided to let her go, she would be left entirely helpless again.
Gwynn, with her pure heart and an inability to see malice in people, developed a close friendship with Janice. They became inseparable best friends, sharing secrets, moments, and many laughs. Due to this closeness, Gwynn felt deeply moved by Janice’s life story and wanted to help her friend in some way. Therefore, she asked her parents to adopt Janice, so they could live as a family and Janice could have the opportunity to be loved in a true home, in addition to completing her education.
Janice becomes part of the Maguad family
This request was granted, and Janice was adopted in July 2021. Janice was well-treated by the Maguad family, Gwynn considered Janice as a sister, and they even shared the same room. Before Janice moved in, the siblings shared a room and slept on a bunk bed. Now, with only one bed in the room, Louis started sleeping temporarily on the living room sofa to make the room more comfortable for the two girls.
The day of the crime
December 10, 2021, started as just another seemingly normal day for the Maguad family. The parents went to work, and the three children stayed home. However, everything changed that afternoon. Cruz received a call around 3:00 pm informing him that their house had been invaded and robbed. He rushed to his car and drove hastily to check on his children.
Around 3:15 pm, he arrived without imagining he would find a bloodbath in his house. A blood-soaked blanket and the tip of a knife without the handle were near the front door. He called his son, but there was no response. Unable to open the front door, he went to the back of the house, which was eerily silent. Opening the back door, he continued calling for his three children.
The father witnesses the worst scene of his life
As Cruz walked from the kitchen to the living room, he saw the bodies of his biological children, both bathed in their own blood. Gwynn, his daughter, had bruises and stab wounds all over her body, lying just a few steps from her room. Louis was tied and gagged near the front door. His body also had knife wounds and was covered in fresh blood, unlike Gwynn, indicating that she was killed first. There were also broken bottles, a hammer, and a baseball bat near the bodies.
According to the police and investigators, the children were possibly killed around 2:00 pm, based on the stiffness of their bodies.
The way Janice was found perfectly fine
In a state of shock and desperation, Cruz searched the house for his adopted daughter, thinking that with the supposed invasion and homicide, Janice might also be found lifeless. However, to Cruz’s surprise, Janice appeared to be well, without injuries, having just taken a bath and still having wet hair.
Cruz found this very strange but did not consider the possibility of her being involved in the murder of the siblings. However, one thing caught his and his wife Lovella’s attention, on that day, Janice called them “mom and dad” for the first time. It was as if she wanted to start a new cycle of a happy family without the presence of the couple’s biological children. Moreover, only family members knew where the hammer and baseball bat used in the crime were kept.
Janice’s Testimony
During the investigation, Janice claimed that three men entered the house and killed Louis first, contradicting what was observed at the crime scene. Louis’s blood was still fresh when the father arrived, while Gwynn’s body was already stiffening and infested with ants. Terrified, Janice quickly hid under the bed in the room and remained still and quiet. She added that the men were thieves, but Mr. and Mrs. Maguad stated that, aside from the teenagers’ phones, nothing else was stolen. At 3:00 pm, Janice posted a status on Facebook seeking help. Gwynn’s boyfriend saw her post and immediately called her, Janice answered but didn’t say a word, and the environment was very silent. According to her, she didn’t say anything because she was still in hiding.
Regarding having wet hair, Janice gave an explanation that didn’t make much sense. According to her, after realizing that the intruders had left, she came out from under the bed and, feeling very nervous, decided to take a bath to calm down before calling the police or seeking help.
Janice’s contradictions
The police and investigative team began searching the house for clues leading to the perpetrators. The room where Janice had supposedly hidden was very messy, and it seemed like the criminals had meticulously examined every corner. In this case, it would have been impossible not to see someone hiding under the bed.
Investigators stated that the assailant had enough time and calmness to wash the bodies and change underwear and pants in the family’s laundry room. The entire procedure was done in the residence, including the invasion, execution, and the act of washing clothes to hide any evidence. The clothes were then placed in a plastic bag, and the assailant attempted to dispose of them near the house, but a branch blocked the path and was spotted by the police.
The case takes over the news
From that day on, it was a significant shock for the parents and residents of that region. After all, who could have had the courage to kill two young people who were peaceful and well-mannered with everyone? And how did three men invade a house in the middle of the afternoon, during a busy time in the neighborhood, without being seen by anyone?
After the crime, Janice continued living her life as if nothing had happened to the family that welcomed her as a daughter. However, some people on the internet began to suspect that the teenager might have been involved in the murder of the siblings. The police also suspected her because in some statements, she contradicted herself about what had happened on the day of the murders. However, the police did not have enough evidence to incriminate her. Although her fingerprints were present on the weapons used in the crimes, everything was from inside the house, and it was normal to have her fingerprints on those items.
Confession of the murderer and her accomplice
The media, local press, and the public began to question and investigate this horrendous crime. Some even threatened Janice, saying that she was the murderer of the siblings. Fearing being attacked in the street, six days after the crime, on December 16, 2021, she finally confessed to the crime.
She did not confess out of remorse for killing the siblings, but out of fear for her own life. In her confession, now as a confessed murderer, she said that she did it out of anger and jealousy towards the Maguad siblings. Janice claimed she didn’t act alone; she had the help of another teenager whose identity was not revealed. She had a romantic involvement with this young man, who was an altar boy in the church, and agreed to assist her in the crime.
The arrest and trial of the murderers
Both were arrested, and the young man also confessed his involvement. They were both tried in May 2022 and were convicted of double homicide, receiving a sentence ranging from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 31 years in prison.
Very shaken by the loss of his children, Mr. Maguad said, “She was jealous and insecure, so she was very angry with Gwynn. She wanted to take her place. I heard that’s her personality. When she’s angry with someone, she’ll really bring that person down.”
The truth about who Janice really is comes to light
To everyone’s surprise, there is another twist in this story. Janice was not actually a poor orphan; the police discovered that her parents are alive, and she has three siblings. However, she distanced herself from her family and told people that she was an orphan, probably to gain attention, sympathy, or trust.
The alleged inspiration from the famous movie “Orphan”
Because she was often compared to the fictional child from the movie “The Orphan,” Mr. Cruz mentioned in his statement that it was one of Janice’s favorite films. She even invited him to watch the movie with her once, but he refused because he had already seen it before and didn’t like it.
In just 5 months, this family’s life turned upside down. Once a cheerful home, with professionally fulfilled parents proud of their children, became complete solitude.
The impact of the brutal crime on the country’s adoption rate that year
This crime deeply affected the Philippines and other countries that learned about it because it involved an adopted child committing such brutality against biological siblings. As a result, the adoption rate plummeted that year. Perhaps other parents felt afraid to bring an adopted child into their homes and become potential victims in the future, just like the Maguad family. However, it is important to emphasize that this case was an anomaly. Being adopted does not make a child a monster in society. Character and values are instilled in a child from an early age, irrespective of whether they are biologically related or adopted.
The eternal mark that the tragedy left on the Maguad family
The Maguad family consisted of four kind-hearted individuals who welcomed Janice with open arms as a family member, without any distinction based on whether she shared their DNA or not. They gave her love and care, and the siblings even gave up important things to make her feel more comfortable and secure. Unfortunately, this family did not know who Janice truly was, and they could never have expected that they were opening the doors for true evil to enter their home. Now, this family has been completely destroyed and will never be able to be fully happy or trust anyone again.
