A university student was stabbed to death while reportedly fending off suspected rapists in the Philippines.

Lady Grace Galo, 19, was alone in her house in a remote area of Misamis Oriental province on January 12 afternoon. She was doing chores in her room when the unidentified attackers allegedly broke into the single-storey rural home surrounded by a dense forest.

The suspects were said to have tried raping the teenager, then stabbed her to death with a knife when she resisted. They escaped the scene through the large wire-covered window they had entered.

Grace's parents later returned home from work and found the youngster dead in a pool of blood, with multiple stab wounds to her torso and neck. They called the Tagoloan Municipal Police for help.

Police Brigadier General Jaysen de Guzman, Police Regional Office 10 Regional Director, said on January 13 that authorities have identified three suspects.

He said: 'Our investigators went to the scene and collected knives in the area. Those will be processed by the forensic department. There were also bloodstained clothes that were collected.

'At first, we were only looking at one suspect, but with that discovery, it turns out there might be three. We are waiting for the results from the crime lab to establish if the knives were the weapons used in the crime.

'We don't know officially if she has been raped. Because when I saw the girl, she was bloody. We can't establish sexual assault just from that, but we will give an update when it has been confirmed. We believe that the attackers attempted to rape her but she resisted.'

Gruesome photos of the crime scene show Grace lying face-down outside her room in a pool of her own blood. Several clothes in the room were in disarray and also soaked in the scarlet liquid.

While outside the shabby graffitied home, the wire grilles one of the windows had been lifted, exposing the family's living room. Police believe the suspects had sneaked in through the window.

Grace's devastated father Rodrigo Galo urged the police to swiftly resolve the case.

He said: 'We were shocked because of all the people whom they could attack, they chose my daughter, who is so humble and diligent in her studies. I hope those responsible for this crime will be brought to justice.'

Grace was a second-year university student taking up business administration at a local college. Residents said she often volunteered at a nearby parish during her spare time before her death.

Police said investigations were ongoing.