MANILA, Philippines - Rejoice Rivera’s proverbial fifteen minutes of fame is over.

The 26-year old Rivera, real name Dianne Marie Santos, a member of
the all-female sing and dance group Baywalk Bodies, was found dead on
the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Guiguinto town on Dec. 29.

Rivera, who was wearing a gray shirt and denim shorts, was identified
by her relatives in a morgue in Malolos. She sustained bullet wounds in
the head.

Nieves Santos, Rivera's mother, revealed in an interview on “The
Buzz,” Jan. 2 that she last talked to her daughter on the night of Dec. 28.

“Nag-kwekwento lang siya na, ‘Mama may nag-text sa akin.’ Ganun. May gusto daw makipagkita sa kanya,” Santos related.

Santos said she started to worry about her daughter when she received
a text message from one of her daughter’s friends the next day.

“May trabaho daw yata. No-show daw si Rejoice. Eh, unusual daw na hindi man lang mag-text ‘yun.”

Santos disclosed however, that she received a text message from
an unknown sender Dec. 31 relating how her daughter had been killed and
by whom.

“May binanggit na pangalan, sabi yun ang ang bumaril kay Rejoice. Nakokonsensya daw siya.”

She didn’t reveal the alleged killer’s name admitting that she is
yet to decide as to what to do next after her daughter is interred.

Rivera, the second of three Santos siblings, was the family's breadwinner and had no known enemies, Santos said.

“Hindi ko nga alam kung bakit siya pinatay sa ganyang paraan. walang masamang tinapay diyan,” said she.

Santos relayed a message to the culprit via the same interview.

“Sana makonsensya ka. Sana matakot ka sa Diyos. Sana huwag mangyari sa iyo itong nangyari sa anak ko.”

As for her daughter she said, “Salamat sa 26 years na binigay mo sa amin. Ginawa mong buhay na buhay ang pamilya natin.”

Senior Superintendent Fernando Villanueva, Bulacan police director,
said investigators are still trying to identify Rivera's companion or
companions and what occurred during the last few hours prior to her
death.

Villanueva speculated that Rivera may have been killed elsewhere and her body merely dumped on the NLEX.

The Baywalk Bodies achieved a semblance of popularity early this decade when their novelty song “Kiliti” made it on radio.

They subsequently made headlines when members of the group appeared skimpily clad in a publicity stunt at the Baywalk in Manila.