Campbell probe: PNP receives 18 pieces of evidence

At least 18 pieces of evidence relative to the killing of US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell have been submitted to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory Service for forensic examination, officials said Wednesday. The Cordillera PNP office and the Ifugao PNP office are confident that forensic analysis of the evidence would help them identify Campbell’s attacker or attackers. Campbell’s body was found April 18 in a shallow grave near a creek in Batad, Banaue, Ifugao, by Army soldiers, 10 days after she went on a solo hike to the Banaue Rice Terraces. Chief Supt. Raul Gonzales said forensic experts will be analyzing the evidence submitted to the Fingerprint Identification Division and Medico Legal Division of the PNP Crime Lab. The pieces of evidence submitted for laboratory examination include two red empty tin cans of sardines, an empty green cigarette pack, a plastic bottle of sunblock lotion, a makeup kit, a piece of crumpled paper, a digital camera placed in a synthetic camera bag, an empty bottle of mineral water without cover and two pairs of eye glasses, one of which was damaged. Other pieces of evidence recovered from the house of primary suspect Juan Duntugan and submitted for analysis are a blood-stained pestle, two pairs of blue denim pants both with traces of blood, a black ball cap with marking “June" and a brown envelop. Also recovered from the crime scene were white panties, a cotton bud, a sanitary napkin and a piece of greenish cloth. Gonzales earlier had shown a picture of Duntugan, who police said could be the key to the immediate solution of the Campbell killing. But Gonzales said on Tuesday investigators have no direct evidence to link Duntugan to the killing of Campbell, as they only have circumstantial evidence on hand. In the absence of direct evidence against the suspect, police need the copy of Campbell’s autopsy in filing the charges in court. The complete autopsy report will be available in three to four weeks. Police are still conducting a manhunt for Duntugan, who is originally from La Trinidad, Benguet, and works as a woodcarver, but got married to a woman residing in Batad where he settled. - GMANews.TV