Duntugan charged with murder, presented to media in Crame

By Ronron
April 30, 2007

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday night charged the suspected killer of US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell with murder before the Ifugao Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

Ifugao Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Pedro Ganir said Juan Donald Duntugan, 25, was personally brought before Ifugao Provincial Prosecutor Marvin Ngayawan at around 11pm the other day (Sunday) for the filing of criminal case against him.

“The element for murder (which is intent to kill) was there,” Ganir said when asked why it was a case for murder.

Duntugan, Ganir said, had claimed that he killed Campbell after he mistook her as his neighbor-nemesis, named Blas, on the night of April 8. The woodcarver suspect said he was walking along the trails of Barangay Batad in Banaue, Ifugao when somebody bumped him from the back at around 6pm. Thinking it was Blas, he immediately pounced upon that person with stone on the head, only to find out later when the person became unconscious that it was a Caucasian woman.

“He (Duntugan) claimed he had a (mental) blackout that’s why he said he did not recognize the person,” said Chief Supt. Raul Gonzales, Cordillera Region Police chief, in a press briefing yesterday afternoon at Camp Crame where Duntugan was presented.

Before Duntugan surrendered last Friday, Ganir said they are contemplating on charging him with robbery with homicide since a witness claimed Duntugan was carrying Campbell’s bag.

However, after interrogating Duntugan and the holding of re-enactment of the incident at the crime scene last Saturday, police found no evidence for possible robbery charge.

Besides, Ganir said, Duntugan admitted he committed the crime.

“He (Duntugan) decided to proceed killing her (Campbell) when he realized she was not Blas because she was already unconscious,” said investigator Chief Insp. Rino Corpus from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

After killing Campbell, Duntugan dragged her to the ditch, hit her several times more with a piece of firewood, and then covered her body with soil.

But despite the filing of case, PNP Chief Gen. Oscar Calderon said they “are not taking his statements hook, line and sinker.”

“We want to cross check his statements with evidence and the findings of our own investigation. Mr. Duntugan’s blood and urine specimen have been taken for laboratory analysis, as well as the bloodied shirt and ballcap, piece of firewood, and a bolo which the suspect claimed he used as tool to move soil to cover the victim’s body,” Calderon said in the same press briefing.

During the presentation, a handcuffed Duntugan shed some tears and was not allowed to speak to the media, upon the advise of his lawyer.

Gonzales said he thinks that Duntugan’s act of voluntarily giving up his self to authorities will be considered by the judge when a verdict will be handed down against him.

Calderon pointed out that what caused Duntugan’s surrender is his conscience, him being a simple citizen with no criminal record prior to the Campbell slay.

Results of the drug test on Duntugan is still being awaited by authorities to find out if he was normal during the commission of the crime.

Duntugan was transported to Manila from Ifugao immediately after he was charged before the prosecutor’s office there. They arrived in Camp Crame on Monday morning, after seven hours of travel by land.

Duntugan will be brought back to Ifugao where he will be detained, Ganir said./DMS