Failon refused 3rd autopsy on wife, says NBI chief

MANILA, Philippines – The night before Ted Failon’s wife was cremated, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) requested the news anchor if it could conduct a new autopsy on his wife to resolve the mystery over her death. Failon turned down the request, telling the agency that he would just submit the results of the autopsy conducted by Dr. Raquel Fortun, the forensic expert from the University of the Philippines, said NBI Director Nestor Mantaring. Fortun, who was tapped by Failon to conduct a second autopsy, said Trinidad Arteche Etong likely committed suicide. “Nag-request kami pero nag-request din siya na ‘wag nalang kasi nga nakapag-dalawang autopsy na ang na-conduct," Mantaring said in an exclusive interview with GMA News reporter John Consulta. [We made a requeste, but he turned it down. He declined because two autopsies had already been conducted.] NBI Special Task Force head Arnel Dalumpines said on Tuesday that it would be better if the agency conduct its own autopsy instead of studying the separate autopsy results forwarded to them by the police and Fortun. Trina died last April 16, a day after she was found lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot on her head in their Quezon City residence. Her body was cremated Wednesday, April 22, at the Arlington Memorial Chapel crematory, five days after her death. Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales, head of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), revealed Wednesday that some of Trinidad’s relatives were not in favor of her cremation. “I have not talked to any sibling of Trina, pero some relative, very very close relatives [nagsabi] na ‘ung mga kapatid ni Trina if possible ayaw nilang ipa-cremate," he said in an interview with reporters. [I have not talked to any of Trina’s siblings but some relative, very, very close relative, has said that Trina’s siblings, if possible, would not like to have their sister’s body cremated.] Rosales said the information was relayed to him "in confidence," but he decided to divulge it to present to the public "reactions at their end." Besides the suicide angle, police are also considering parricide because the scene of the incident and the car that was used to rush Trina to the hospital were all cleaned even before investigators could take a look at them. They also said that it was not Failon but the hospital that reported the crime. Failon denied having a hand in his wife’s death and accusedthe police for trying to get back at him for his hard-hitting commentaries. Police downplayed Failon’s accusation, saying they were just doing their job. Trina’s co-worker, Mappette Urgino, could not believe that her friend could commit suicide, GMA News’ Kara David quoted her as saying. In a report aired over GMA News’ "24 Oras," David said Urgino was one of those mourners who were not allowed by Arlington’s security to attend Trina’s funeral service. Urgino turned emotional as she disclosed that it never crossed her mind that Trina would suffer such fate. “Hindi ko talaga malubos maisip itong nangyari sa kanya [I cannot imagine that this would happen to Trina]. I really feel very sad for Trina and her family and I pray that they would have the strength to be able to overcome their great loss," Urgino said. Urgino added that it would take a while before she "could overcome the pain I feel inside because I feel for those who lost her because she was such a good friend." Psychological autopsy The NBI said they would conduct a psychological autopsy on Etong’s state of mind before the shooting to determine if she was killed or if she committed suicide. To get a credible result, NBI forensic psychiatrist Dr. Edison Galindez appealed to Etong’s relatives and friends for their full cooperation. "We may not be able to extract vital information from the relatives’ – ‘yung mga closest relatives niya. Wala kaming makukuhang behavioral report [we may not be able to extract vital information from Trina’s closest relatives. Then we won't be able get a behavioral report]," Galindez said in an interview with GMA News Jay Taruc. According to the McGraw-Hill "Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine" psychological autopsy psychological autopsy analyzes the causes of death by examining the body and the circumstances, both natural and unnatural, that led to death. It focuses on the decedent's intentions relating to his or her own death, especially suicide. It explained that in the “usual" death, a person suffers from a known set of morbid conditions and dies as a natural consequence, while in “unnatural" death, such as homicide or suicide, determination of the cause of death is more difficult and requires analysis of circumstances preceding it. - With Carlo Lorenzo, GMANews.TV