DOJ: Nida's case to go on despite Strunk’s death

Despite the death of Roger Lawrence Strunk, the government will continue to pursue the murder case against the other suspects in the grisly murder of actress Nida Blanca in 2001. Radio dzBB quoted Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez on Saturday as saying that Strunk's death will not stop the government from pursuing the case against Blanca's suspected killers. The case is at the sala of Judge Alex Quiros of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court. In an earlier interview, Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) head Persida Acosta said that while death will extinguish one’s criminal liability, there are other suspects charged in the five-year-old murder case. “Wala kaming natatanggap na official report, pero kung pag-uusapan ang epekto sa kaso, tuloy ang kaso. May nakakulong na tulad ni Medel, may iba pang at large (We haven’t received an official report on it but as far as the case is concerned, it will go on. There are some suspects who are in custody, there are some who are still at large)," Acosta, who acts as lawyer for Blanca’s long-time aide Elena dela Paz, said in an interview on QTV-11 television Saturday. On the other hand, Blanca’s daughter Kay Torres declined to comment on the case as she was personally verifying the details of Strunk’s death. Acosta cited the case of Philip Medel, who at first confessed to the crime and claimed Strunk hired him to kill Blanca, but recanted his statement a few days later. For a time, Dela Paz was also linked to the crime but investigators could not find enough evidence against her. Dela Paz is now an aide of Blanca’s daughter Kay. “Ang criminal liability, extinguished pag namatay ang akusado. Pero sa puntong yan sana pagaralan ng angulo ng Tracy police ... Napakahirap, wala kaming natanggap na balita (Criminal liability is extinguished when the accused dies. But there are many things we have to study in Strunk’s case. It’s very hard to speculate right now, we don’t have an official account of what happened)," Acosta said. When asked if the PAO will coordinate with the Tracy, California police on Strunk’s death, Acosta said she will likely do so, if dela Paz wants to. Strunk reportedly died after falling 20 feet from the balcony of an inn in Tracy, California Wednesday (California time). “Sana hustisya sa kaso maghari sa kasong ito (We just hope justice will be served in this case)," Acosta said. - GMANews.TV