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REVIEW
OF EVIDENCE SUBMITTED BY THE PROSECUTION PARTICULARLY AS THESE RELATE TO
THE CAUSE AND MANNER OF DEATH
RE:
CRIM. CASE 45303-45304
(People of the Philippines versus Francisco Juan Larraņaga, et al.)
On
request of Atty. Sisinio Andales and Atty. Eric Carin lawyers of the
accused, Aznar and Uys respectively, the undersigned and six others
reviewed the evidences presented by the prosecution to the Regional Trial
Court, Seventh Judicial Region, Branch 7, Cebu City.
The
seven (7) member team is headed by Associate Professor of Anthropology
Jerome Bailen of the Dept. of Anthropology, University of the Philippines,
Diliman. The six (6) members of the team are: Prof. Paz Abis, Dept, of
Chemistry, Philippine College of Criminology; Ret. Col. Reynaldo Marcelo,
Dactylography Expert, Philippine College of Criminology; Mr. Erdolfu
Grimares, Ballistician and Crime Scene Reconstruction Expert, Philippine
College of Criminology, Anastacio Rosete Jr., Forensic Odontologist; Mr.
Victor Besa, Forensic Photographer and the undersigned, Benito
E. Molino, MD, Forensic Doctor.
The
undersigned was trained in forensic work by the American Association for
the Advancement of Science in 1986 and in 1989 became member of the
Committee of Concerned Forensic Scientists and Physicians for the
Documentation of Human Rights Abuses (CCFS), Denmark. Since the said
training, the gained knowledge and skills were applied in investigations
of cases of human rights violations through out the country, disasters and
criminal cases of national significance. And to keep abreast with
international development in the field of forensic, the undersigned
attended international conferences.
The review consisted of the following activities:
>Three
hour review
of 40 exhibits in the court by
the prosecution and documentation of
the said
evidence
thru photography;.
>Ocular
inspection of
the crime scene (Tanawan, Carcar, Cebu);.
>interview with selected
people, lawyers,
relatives
of the accused, journalists, and
others who could
help shed light on information presented by the interested parties; and
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2
>Review
of newspaper clippings, court transcripts, photocopies of documents
submitted by the prosecution
to the court as evidence
and the photographs taken during the 8 January 1999 review of the
prosecution evidence at the the sala of Presiding
Judge Martin Ocampo.
THE
ALLEGED CRIME
On the evening of
16 July 1997, two young women, namely Jacqueline and Marijoy Chiong who
are sisters were allegedly abducted at
Ayala
Center
,
Cebu
City
by a group of young men. The sisters were allegedly gang raped in two
places, in
Cebu
City
and in Tan-awan,
Municipality
of
Carcar in
Cebu province. Two days after, a lifeless decomposing body of a young
woman was found in Tan-awan at the foot of a cliff who was later
identified as that of Marijoy. Jacqueline is yet to surface. The young men
who allegedly abducted tile Chiong sisters are Jomar Aznar, Francisco Juan
Larranaga and six other men.
THE
REVIEW
While in Manila,
transcripts of court proceedings and photocopies of evidences presented to
the court
by the prosecution were reviewed. However, the photocopies are not clear
enough, especially photographs to warrant a good examination. Thus, actual
review of the presented evidences to the court becomes imperative. Thus,
during the two visits in
Cebu
City
, the review of the prosecution evidences was done and other activities
pertinent to the analysis of the evidences were likewise conducted.
Readings
of the above listed materials and examination of the photographs were
conducted and continued in Metro
Manila
.
THE
RESULTS/FINDINGS
READINGS revealed
that two (2) young sisters, Jacqueline, 23 y.o. and Marijoy, 21 y.o, both
surnamed Chiong were allegedly abducted at the premises of Ayala Center,
Cebu City on 16 July 1997 around 10
O'clock in the evening, The two (2) sisters were allegedly brought to a
house in Guadalupe which is at least ten (10) minutes from the Ayala
Center where they were allegedly gang raped. Between 2300 and 2330 hours
of the same evening one of the accused was allegedly seen
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3
hiring a van in a place twenty (20) minutes from Guadalupe. This van was
allegedly used to bring the sisters to Brgy. Tan-awan, Carcar, where they
were again gang raped. Tan-awan is 48 kilometers from the heart of Cebu
City. The last two (2) kilometers going to Tan-awan is winding and uphill.
After the gang raped, the state witness alleged that the weakened Marijoy
was assisted by two men, one on her left and the other on her right to
walk towards a cliff. Theses two men allegedly pushed her down the 150
meter deep ravine.
Jacqueline, on the other hand at around 4 AM, the following day (17 July
1997), was allegedly seen by tricycle drivers plying their route towards
Carcar town proper, running along the highway dressed like a crazy woman
pursued by a white van with the alleged suspects on board. Allegedly a
loud music was played in tile van at that time. Then, according to one of
tile accused who turned state witness, Jacqueline was brought back to
Cebu
City
. Upon arrival at the city, this accused turned-state witness allegedly
alighted at the Ayala center. That was the last time he saw or heard of
Jacqueline.
COMMENT:
The time to gang rape the two women in Guadalupe is only one (1) to at
most 1.5 hours. The alleged crime given the tight time could only be
probable if the women did not offer any resistance, the house was well
prepared for the crime, traffic is very light, and that the neighborhood
likewise cooperated.
In Tan-awan, the suspects have a longer time which may range from two (2)
to three (3) hours. But again for die eight men to rape both the two women
one after the other in the said time frame is not that convincing.
People interviewed in the neighborhood of the crime scene in Tan-awan, the
nearest houses located around 70 to 100 meters away denied any untoward
noise during the date when the crime vas allegedly committed.
The height of the cliff was not measured, but was roughly estimated by the
police investigators. The actual height of the cliff is only 90 meters.
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4
DISCOVERY
OF A DEAD WOMAN'S BODY
on the 18th
July 1997, at around 10 AM, a lifeless decomposing body of a young woman was
allegedly found by the local
folks at the foot of the said cliff in Tan-awan. They discovered the said
body when they smell the stench of decomposition while fishing in the
nearby river. The barangay officials were alerted and one of the officials
reported the discovery to the Carcar police force. A group of Carcar
Philippine National Police (PNP) and a local part-time photographer was
then mobilized to investigate the report.
COMMENT:
The photographer is not a
professional one much less trained on forensic work. No information was
supplied if the body was moved by those who first found it
or if other personal effects like jewelry, earrings, wrist watch, wallet
and others were seen with the body when the case was reported. Recovery of
these personal effects would have greatly helped identify the victim.
THE
CRIME SCENE (TAN-AWAN, CARCAR)
A sketch
was presented by the prosecution showing the top of the alleged cliff from
which she fell along the highway passing thru Tan-awan. The positions of
the alleged perpetrators in relation to the parked van were likewise
noted.
COMMENT:
There was no photograph
nor sketch of the foot nor the base of the cliff much
less
description of the said area where the body
was
found. A sketch of the top of the cliff was presented but only to indicate
relative positions of the alleged
accused as to the parked van. The height of the cliff was
roughly estimated at 150 meters, More than 60 meters of its actual height.
The sketch show's no dimensions nor positions of existing man made and
natural structures in the area and their relative distances or positions,
Moreover, no photograph nor sketch of the said house where the alleged
first gang-raped took place. Description of the said house, was likewise
not available. Evidently, the rnedico-legal
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investigation
did not do crime scene investigation. (See Appendis A, Model Autopsy
Protocol, Section B).
There is also a basis for claiming
that the body has
been touched or moved or at least some
of the
evidence at the recovery scene were tampered with before photographs of
the body were taken.
A report dated 17 September 1998 signed by Police Supt. Clemente G.
Sandigan, cites a police blotter report from the Police Office, Carcar,
Cebu, entry number 134 dated 18 1350H July 1997 which records among
others, that the police team headed by SP04 Unabia "disclosed
that said dead person was a woman... with a masking tape wrapped around
the mouth and a handcuff on her left wrist". (Underscoring
supplied)
However, a computer enhanced
photograph (part of the prosecutor's exhibits) of the head and neck region
of the body taken at the recovery scene clearly shows that the masking
tape mentioned was not wrapped around the mouth.
Rather, the tape is shown raised
on the right side (of the cadaver) diagonally, going up towards the right
upper part of the head, above the right ear. Moreover, instead of the
mouth, both
eyes, upper part of the nose and the left ear were all covered by the
tape. The photograph also shows tearing
of portions
the tape at the left and right sides of the head.
Parenthetically, it is hard to believe that not a single finger print was
"developed and lifted" from such a wide and long tape material
used particularly with an adhesive side to it, by PNP Crime Laboratory
finger print technicians. On the other hand, they claim to have developed
and lifted a full left thumb print from a very small metallic area of a
computer diskette almost three (3) months after its recovery
allegedly from the crime scene.
RECOMMENDATION
To better
appreciate how the crime was committed or make correlations with the
testimonies of the witnesses
and the presented material evidences, it is of outmost importance to have
a clear picture of the scene or scenes where the alleged crime or crimes
happened. The private investigators did this (See Appendix B).
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6
RETRIEVAL OF
THE CORPSE
The policemen
walked down towards the foot of the cliff where the alleged dead decaying
body was discovered thru a muddy and rocky trail for fifteen (15) minutes.
Upon reaching the site, the policemen requested the local photographer to
take shots. The photographs presented showed the body in front and back
positions lying on her left side with a locked handcuff on her left wrist.
The other pair of the handcuffs shown by the photograph taken at the
recovery scene hooked to a sizable branch of a recently cut or broken off
small sized log.
A tape was wrapped around the head about the forehead and about the mouth
towards the neck. The victim was wearing an orange shirt and a blue denim
long pants. The brands were later known to be 'Giordano' and 'Guess',
respectively. No other body was found in the said area. The corpse was
then brought to a funeral parlor in the town proper of Carcar where the
mortician embalmed the body just a few hours after it
was
received.
COMMENT:
The photos are blurred and
look like shots of a low quality point and shoot (Instamatic) camera,
apparently taken by a non-professional photographer. There were no
panoramic crime scene shots taken nor detailed close-up (macro) shots of
important features such as the face, the pair of handcuffs, the tape,
etc..., no pointers nor scales and direction were placed and no sketch
done nor dimensions or measurements taken. From the foot of the cliff, it
was not clear how the body was bundled up and carried towards the highway.
No photograph was taken to document this. It seems that the hands,
especially the fingers were not protected. Protecting these body parts is
very important, especially in crimes of rape. Again there is no evidence
to prove otherwise. Then this lifeless body with maggots allegedly seen on
the openings of the head was brought to a funeral parlor in the town of
Carcar
. Again there is no photograph to show this claim, especially the said
maggots, an important and a major indicator used in determining the time
of death or when the body was thrown or dumped in the said area.
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7
Ideally, aside from getting a
good colored macro-photos of the maggots against a millimeter scale, a
good sample of them must be collected. Some of the later to be brought to
an entomologist for identification and some to be cultured up to adulthood
to be sure as to what specific type of maggots are found in a crime scene,
It makes a lot of difference in a forensic narrative if a maggot comes
from an outdoor or from an indoor staying fly. Size and characteristics of
the maggots are also informative of the days or stage of their maturation.
We (Professor Bailen and I) not so
long ago in connection with another homicide case grew four (4) batches of
maggots of the outdoor (Tagalog: "Bangaw") type, in outdoor and
relatively wet conditions at the U.P. Diliman lagoon. We made daily
observations of their development; photo-document (with still and video
cameras) their development; collected samples on a daily basis and allowed
the others to attain their full development into flies. Our data shows
that flies are active only during the day, maggot development is inhibited
by wet conditions and most important, maggots are not normally visible to
the unaided eye until about
two days (48 hours).
A computer-enhanced photo of the
body at the recovery scene indicates that outdoor type flies are
found with the body, but unfortunately the photo is not clear enough to
show if there are already maggots. We have had cases where, live
maggots are found on an embalmed body, even
in a coffin. In this case where the body is claimed to be dead between two
and four in the morning (2 AM - 4 AM) of 17 July 1997 and heavy rains were
experienced in the area during and after the death of the body occurred,
if the body when secured showed maggot infestation, the death could have
occurred at least around ten (10) hours earlier than the reported time
claimed by the prosecution.
Recommendation:
The
remaining photographs of the whole negative must be retrieved and have the
unprinted portions developed. Maybe there are unprinted photographs that
could be useful for the defense, especially photographs that have captured
the features of the reported maggots. Professional photographers trained
in forensic work and equipped with manual camera with macro lens are
important in this kind of work. The corpse position should be
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8
maintained, but if for any reason this is going to be repositioned,
photo-documentation should be done before and after the repositioning. And
when the body is removed, that same area has to be photo-documented.
Processing
of the Corpse
Embalming was done
prior to the autopsy which was done two (2) days after. The soiled pants,
shirt and panty of the victim were cut by the mortician and these personal
effects together with the bra, pony tail (hair tie), and the packing tape
wrapped around the head and neck of the victim were improperly kept by
wrapping these with an old newspaper and bagged in an ordinary plastic.
COMMENT:
Embalming before autopsy is highly irregular. Autopsy should come first.
Because of this lapse if not willful neglect, recoverable evidences
related to the alleged crime of rape were destroyed. For example, the
fingernails could have offered evidences as to the identity of the
perpetuators. But the fact that the victim was not noted in the autopsy
report to have any broken fingernails or tissues under the nails might be
inconsistent with her having ,struggled or fought back against her
tormentors. Embalming makes this a futile exercise. Recovery of suitable
body fluids such as semen or blood becomes harder and may cause the
degradation of these substances rendering them unsuitable for serological
examinations later. Moreover, features of injuries are disturbed if not
distorted.
Personal effects, especially clothing should be examined first before it
is carefully removed, Careless cutting of personal effects without prior
photo-documentation is contraindicated in the procedure, as information
might be lost or destroyed. (See Appendix A, Model Autopsy Protocol).
IDENTIFICATION
The lifeless
body was later identified to be that of Marijoy Chiong based on the badly
prepared right thumb epidermal skin specimen preparation taken during the
autopsy two days after the corpse was embalmed.
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9
THE AUTOPSY
Two (2) days after
embalming, the corpse was autopsied. Photographs of the whole body showing
mainly right lateral views were presented. Sketches of the physical
injuries were done noting the sustained fractures, lacerations, abrasions
and avulsions. These injuries were mostly on the anterior and lateral
surfaces of the body and none on the posterior surface. These documented
injuries are consistent with the the tears of the clothings, especially
the pants. Sketch of the hymenal lacerations was likewise done, but no
determinations as to whether these are fresh or old, healed laceration
were done.
COMMENT:
As
was previously pointed out, autopsy should have been done earlier before
the embalming procedure. On top of this, the process of examination was
likewise deficient. Among these are as follows. There was no vaginal swab
taken to determine if there are products of ejaculate, No bites were taken
for histological examination, especially of soft tissue injuries which
could definitely tell whether these soft tissue injuries, say on the skin
, in the form of contusions, lacerations or abrasions are ante-mortern or
shows living (vital) tissue reaction, or whether these tissue injuries
were sustained when the heart was still pumping and therefore the victim
was still alive. Histological examination could help establish temporal
relationships of the injuries, especially age of the hymenal laceration.
No pubic hair was collected. This will help determine the identity of the
perpetuators. No radiological examination was conducted, a vital procedure
in determining specific location, extent of and possible cause of skeletal
injuries and also the possible presence of missiles or fragments imbedded
in the bones or soil tissues.
Again photograph documentation was very insufficient. No photographs were
presented to document among others: the left lateral and back view of the
remains, the head with the hair in its natural position and when the hair
lifted, and details of the face, teeth, and the reported injuries. The
length of the hair was not measured. Dental examination if ever done was
not photographed. The photographs presented do not have case number, no
scale, and no pointers (See Appendix A, Section B.2).
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Recommendation:
Since the autopsy conducted was sadly deficient and inadequate, exhumation
and re-examination of the said body is important. There is still a good
probability of recovering tissues vital in determining temporal
relationships of injuries and how these might have been specifically
caused as well as the and age of the hymenal laceration. The hair has to
be measured. Radiological examination has to be conducted. . .
CONCLUSION:
Handling of the
evidences was highly irregular. Examination, documentation, and
safekeeping of the evidences were deficient and improper, thus, making it
hard for the investigator to narrow down the probabilities. In this case,
lots of probabilities remain. And relying alone on the presented
evidences, an investigator could not trim down its findings to the most
probable scenarios. But whatever these scenarios or probabilities are,
especially the alleged abduction and gang ripe, and throwing down of' the
victim down the cliff, the fact remains that a decomposing body of an
unidentified young woman was found at the base of a cliff in Tan-awan on
the morning of 18 July 1997 with the manner of death remains undetermined.
The decomposing body was found 20 meters from the base of the cliff and
16.5 meters from the most accessible river bank. That the corpse is facing
the river bank, in front of which at the level of the hips lies a rock
with an approximate dimension of 30 centimeters in width and 25
centimeters in height. A little above and at the back of the corpse is a
broken or freshly cut log where the other pair of the handcuff was hooked
in one of its large branches. This is rather important and must be
clarified from those who saw the body first or the photographer who shot
the pictures, for if the other pair is fastened securely on that branch,
there must have been somebody who fastened it there or that it would have
been difficult for the body (and dangerous for the perpetuators) to be
thrown upon the cliff to reach its resting place near the river bed
instead of being caught or anchored nearer the base of the cliff.
And if the left wrist was wearing a handcuff before it was thrown own off
the cliff and where the free end got entangled or hooked on to something,
the left wrist of the cadaver showed have shown
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marked lacerations
or at least contusions on this part of the handcuffed arm. Surprisingly,
no such observations were noted by the medico-legal investigator in his
autopsy report, nor in his diagram of the body showing its wounds.
Documented soft tissue injuries are
apparently consistent with the noted tearings of the clothings. These soft
tissue injuries are claimed by the prosecution expert as having showed
vital tissue reactions. However, signs of hemorrhage are not that
prominent. This could indicate that active blood flow (expected of living
person) has ceased just prior to or at the same time that these injuries
and fractures were sustained. Temporal relations of the injuries could not
be determined. It hard to claim that all the soft
tissue injuries were sustained during the alleged falling incident. Some
of these injuries might be older.
The sustained fractures and other injuries may not be incompatible with
the fall theory. However, as the prosecution expert would concede it could
be due to other forms of blunt force injuries, it could
not be established at this point, based on the presented evidences whether
the body was thrown or pushed into the ravine already dead or still alive.
Aside from the state witness testimony, it could not be discounted either
that the woman run toward or jumped off the cliff on her own volition to
escape her tormentors. The theory that the dead body was dumped to that
area from the river from which that place where the body was found was
readily accessible and nearer than the base of the cliff where she could
have fallen could not be overlooked. Pertinent to this point is the
conclusion of SP04 Arturo Unabia, one of the police officers who first
arrived at the site where the body was found. He thinks that "... the
victim was intentionally pushed because most of those who have fallen
off the cliff did not even reach the bottom..." (cf Sun Star
Daily, 19 July 1997, p. 31, underscoring supplied).
It is also
hard to conclude from the physical evidence alone that the woman was
raped. The presented simple findings of hymenal lacerations are very
insufficient to come-up with an unquestionable conclusion that the victim
was raped a few hours before or around the time of her death, particularly
when no other injuries were noted in the areas near or around the female
genitalia or in the medial (inner) surface of both thighs and no tearing
shown on the panty and the brasier which were shown to be still properly
in place in the body of the female corpse. This is specially so
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when the alleged identity of the female corpse is that of someone whose
personal history included in a long term relationship with a boyfriend as
testified by the mother.
Thus,
exhumation and re-examination of the victim's remains, especially
histological analysis, are indispensable legal procedures to gather facts
that will establish that indeed the alleged crime of rape consummated and
that all the soft tissue and skeletal injuries were sustained during the
alleged falling incident.
Thus, 'to prevent more wounds from bleeding more
hearts from weeping',
justice must be truly served. In this case, justice can be truly served
when the accused with adequately compelling findings from unquestioned
physical evidence determined through standard and scientifically
acceptable forensic procedures are proven beyond reasonable doubt to have
committed the crime they are accused of.
signed:
JEROME B. BAILEN
signed: BENITO E. MOLINO, MD
Associate Professor in Anthropology
Forensic Consultant
Laboratory of Physical Anthropology
Families of Victims of Involuntary
University
of the
Philippines
Disappearances (FIND)
Diliman,
Quezon City
18 Marunong
St.
, Central District,
Quezon City
25 January 1999
Appendix
A
Appendix
C
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