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Probers have photo that may unlock Julia Campbell slay


(Update) Police already have what may well be the last photograph of Julia Campbell, taken in the mountains of Banaue, Ifugao province, which might help unlock the mystery behind the death of the US Peace Corps worker. According to GMA's Saksi, police said the photograph will be used as evidence against the suspect who is now the subject of a manhunt. In an earlier television interview, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) police said investigators found Campbell's camera near the body of the US Peace Corps worker. Police said the camera "under the bushes." "I've also directed the SOCO (scene of the crime operatives) to develop maybe what is inside the camera of Ms Campbell. That's what we are doing now," said Chief Superintendent Raul Gonzales, CAR provincial police chief. He added that the CAR police now have not just one but three witnesses in the killing of Campbell. Reports last week said the first witness was a 13-year-old boy who saw a man flee the crime scene at Batud village in Banaue. "The three boys that we have saw the bag of Ms Campbell being carried by an individual," Gonzales said. That individual, Gonzales confirmed in the same interview, was 25-year-old Juan Duntungan, a woodcarver who has been tagged as a suspect in the slay. Duntungan has been described as 5'7" in height, fair complexion, medium-built and of a "strong" body. Authorities have visited his reported residences at Batad and Cruz village in La Trinidad, Benguet but these efforts have proved futile. Gonzales said while they have new witnesses, the CAR police continue to look for people "who can give a clear picture of what happened." In its advisory, the United States Embassy in Manila said Campbell went for a hike "unaccompanied" last April 8. She was reported missing three days later and her remains were found on April 18. Initial investigation showed that her head was bludgeoned with a hard object. A blood-stained piece of wood was found near her body. She was buried near a creek with her feet protruding from the ground. Gonzales said the Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to await the results of DNA and autopsy examinations on Campbell's body, as well as other test results on other evidence including the recovered camera. He noted that the camera was broken during a possible tussle with the assailant. "There might be a struggle that happened as evidenced by the lens, the glass, was separated from frame (camera body)," Gonzales said. Asked why the camera was not found the first time, Gonzales replied that, "The camera was found under the bushes, so if you don't try to look on these items you wont find these easily." "SOCO agents found it because they searched under the bushes," he added. He said additional security measures have been put up at the mountain trail where Campbell disappeared - the same path leading to viewing areas of the scenic Banaue Rice Terraces. "It's becoming quiet here. Still, policemen are there guarding [Duntungan's] house. We have also established a police community precinct at the end of the road so we can monitor tourists coming in and out of the tourist site," Gonzales said. PNP crime laboratory experts, assisted by four US pathologists who came from Japan, said there were signs of strangulation and that they were not ruling out that Campbell was sexually assaulted. A team of 15 forensic experts conducted the autopsy on Campbell for seven hours at the Loyola Memorial Chapels in Makati City where her body was brought and frozen hours after her remains were retrieved. - GMANews.TV
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