The Maalaala Mo Kaya (MMK) production team were shocked to find a post by the late Gwynn Maguad about actress Criza Taa, shared a month before her tragic death.
In a thrilling twist, Criza was later cast to portray Gwynn in the MMK adaptation of her and her brother’s killing.
Gwynn’s mother, Lovella Orbe Maguad, shared the revelation in a Facebook post as the first part of the two-part MMK Mother’s Day episode aired on iWanTFC on Thursday, May 8.
“Only hours ago, our story writer stumbled upon a screenshot of Gwynn’s post about Criza—shared exactly a month before the brutal killing. And guess what? Criza is playing Gwynn in the story. This gave the production team goosebumps,” wrote the Maguad Matriarch, sharing the old post about Criza being a “lola’s girl.”
Criza was raised by her grandmother, whom she lovingly called “Mama Wilma,” who passed away in November 2021.
“Gwynn is Lola’s girl, too. As [the] first grandchildren and babies in our family, they were [the] apple of the eye. They were showered with so much love, care and attention from both our families,” shared Lovella.
The Maguad siblings’ case is a tragic double murder that happened on December 10, 2021, in North Cotabato. Siblings Crizzle Gwynn (18) and Crizzule Louis “Boyboy” Maguad (16) were brutally killed in their home while their parents were away. Their adopted sister, Janice, survived and initially claimed masked intruders were responsible.
An investigation, however, uncovered inconsistencies in her story, and forensic evidence pointed to her involvement. Janice and an accomplice were later convicted of the murders.
The motive is believed to involve jealousy and sibling rivalry, rooted in Janice’s feelings of being an outsider in the family.
In a Facebook post, Lovella stressed that their family continues to fight for justice, truth, and change, even three years after the tragic and brutal loss of Crizzlle Gwynn and Boyboy.
Through MMK, they share their pain and their call to amend RA 9344, a law meant to protect the innocent but now ”exploited to shield young offenders from accountability.”
Dimples Romana, who portrays Lovella in the MMK episode, shared in an Instagram post: “This story in particular is by far the most difficult and most painful story I have ever had the privilege of telling.”
