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PNP exec on Campbell: Body seems 'deliberately buried'
Campbell: A smart and passionate NY journalist
Forty-year-old Julia Campbell of Fairfax, Virginia, was a “smart and passionate" journalist in New York before she packed her bags for Manila to do volunteer work for the US Peace Corps in the Philippines. The New York Daily News said Campbell had worked for the city’s several media outlets for more than a decade. In 1997, the newspaper said Campbell, who was then a freelance reporter for The Times, made headlines for herself when she was arrested for allegedly inciting a riot during the Brooklyn funeral procession for slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. The charges were later dismissed. "She was smart and passionate [as a journalist]," said Catherine Quayle, a close friend of Campbell "[but] she wanted to change gears in her life and do things that were a little more meaningful." Quayle is an editor of Court TV’s Web site in the US. Meanwhile, John Cutter, senior editor for online news of the Orlando Sentinel said in his blog (link) that he was expecting Campbell’s “radical" decision of becoming a volunteer. “From what I remember about Julia, it sounds like a move I can see her making, despite being at a stage in life and her career where many of us would be thinking of doing anything BUT making such a radical change," said Cutter. Cutter was a friend and former colleague of Campbell. He said he worked with Campbell at the St. Petersburg Times in the early ‘90s. Campbell worked for the People magazine a few years ago until Cutter lost track of his friend who went to the Philippines in 2005. She also contributed a story to CNN about death and destruction in the wake of a supertyphoon that hit Legaspi, Albay in November. -GMANews.TV
The regional police chief for the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) on Wednesday raised fears that the recovered body believed to be that of US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell was intentionally smothered in soil in Ifugao province. In a television interview, Senior Superintendent Raul Gonzales, CAR police director, said the body "appears to have been deliberately buried." While police officials have deployed investigators to confirm the cause of death, Gonzales said the site has been "considered a crime scene." Army troopers on Wednesday morning found the body of Campbell buried with her feet protruding in Batad village. Investigators could not yet say if Campbell suffered injuries that would indicate she was attacked. Gonzales added that a pair of eyeglasses and a hat were recovered "several meters away from her body" in Batad village in Banaue town. In its appeal for assistance in locating Campbell, the US Embassy in Manila described her as a female Caucasian wearing a pair of eyeglasses. It added that she was last seen on April 8 and that she planned to climb a hilly area near Batad without any companion. However, Gonzales said in a separate interview that Campbell was on her way to meet with a masseuse but she allegedly failed to show up at the meeting place. Also contrary to the US Embassy statement, Gonzales said a male tourist guide was contacted to accompany her. He said in the television interview: "So far we have not gotten a witness who could relay whatever happened during the visit of Ms. Campbell." "But investigators are now looking for witnesses. We have identified some probable witnesses that should be invited," Gonzales said. He did not say, however, if neither the masseuse nor the guide would be invited for questioning. "We hope people in Battad would shed light on this," the CAR police chief added. The Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila has dispatched its own team to Ifugao province to assist in the investigation. Separate statements from the Army and the Armed Forces initially quoted information from the field saying that the body recovered was that of Campbell. Later pronouncements of the military, said American forensic experts would be tapped to determine the body's identity. Meanwhile at Malacañang, a senior Palace official said earlier in the day that Campbell's body was indeed recovered in Batad village. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr had confirmed Campbell's death on Wednesday morning. It was unclear, however, how the military was able to arrive at such conclusion. He added that the verification measures currently being undertaken are aimed at determining the cause of death. "At the time of discovery it was not yet known to the President and the call of the head of the Peace Corps Mr. [Ronald] Tschetter was at about 11 a.m. However, at his point in time it’s already known that Julia Campbell’s body was discovered and had been located," Ermita said. "Arrangements were being done by the military, especially the Air Force to airlift the body. That was about 12:30 when I spoke with the chief of staff (Esperon)," he added. The body is set to be autopsied in Manila. Since October 2006, Campbell had been teaching English at the Divine Word College in Legazpi city. She also taught at a public school in Donsol, Sorsogon. - GMANews.TV Forty-year-old Julia Campbell of Fairfax, Virginia, was a “smart and passionate" journalist in New York before she packed her bags for Manila to do volunteer work for the US Peace Corps in the Philippines. The New York Daily News said Campbell had worked for the city’s several media outlets for more than a decade. In 1997, the newspaper said Campbell, who was then a freelance reporter for The Times, made headlines for herself when she was arrested for allegedly inciting a riot during the Brooklyn funeral procession for slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. The charges were later dismissed. "She was smart and passionate [as a journalist]," said Catherine Quayle, a close friend of Campbell "[but] she wanted to change gears in her life and do things that were a little more meaningful." Quayle is an editor of Court TV’s Web site in the US. Meanwhile, John Cutter, senior editor for online news of the Orlando Sentinel said in his blog (link) that he was expecting Campbell’s “radical" decision of becoming a volunteer. “From what I remember about Julia, it sounds like a move I can see her making, despite being at a stage in life and her career where many of us would be thinking of doing anything BUT making such a radical change," said Cutter. Cutter was a friend and former colleague of Campbell. He said he worked with Campbell at the St. Petersburg Times in the early ‘90s. Campbell worked for the People magazine a few years ago until Cutter lost track of his friend who went to the Philippines in 2005. She also contributed a story to CNN about death and destruction in the wake of a supertyphoon that hit Legaspi, Albay in November. -GMANews.TV 
