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By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
The Ruby Rose Barrameda-Jimenez’s murder case took an alarming
turn for the prosecution after a respected pathologist described as
“inconclusive” the pieces of evidence submitted by the police in
identifying a dead woman’s body found off the coast of Navotas
fish port as the body of the victim.
In the report that Dr. Raquel Fortun, professor
of forensic pathology in the University of the Philippines,
submitted to the Department of Justice on Tuesday, she said the body
was already in advanced state of decomposition when found, which
made it very hard to identify.
“The body found was already in an advanced
stage of decomposition. You cannot use identification of relatives
and clothes of the body in this case,” said Fortun.
During her inspection, it was found out that the
police were yet to conduct actual testing of DNA samples from the
body. Furthermore, she said the samples taken from the body,
specifically from its muscles and posterior, could also not be used
to get conclusive DNA test results.
According to Fortun’s report, the samples
should have been taken from the bones as the body was already
decomposing.
The defense also offered as evidence the
findings made by an odontology expert and UP College of Dentistry
professor, Dr. Danilo Magtanong, who also found that the body of the
woman could not be identified based on dental records.
“It was found that dental records could not be
used as basis for identifying Ruby Rose. She did not have a molar
tooth found in her dental records taken when she was 15 in 1996, but
this cadaver had one. So they do not match,” defense lawyer Mario
Aguinaldo said.
Witness of the defense
Fortun was tapped by lawyer Manuel Jimenez 2nd
and his son, Manuel “Third” Jimenez 3rd, for their defense.
Father and son are among the suspects in the alleged murder, along
with Lope Jimenez, brother of Jimenez 2nd and owner of the Buena
Suerte Jimenez Fishing and Trading Co.
The Jimenez family hired Fortun after their
lawyer Aguinaldo, questioned the method by which the police
conclusively identified the body as that of Ruby Rose.
Ruby Rose went missing in 2007. On June 10 this
year, the victim’s decomposing body was found stuffed inside a
cemented steel case underneath the waters of the Navotas fish port.
Authorities were able to locate her body following a tip from an
informant, Manuel Montero, one of the prime suspects who turned
witness.
The victim’s sister, former beauty queen and
actress Rochelle Barrameda, confirmed the body was that of Ruby Rose
based on the earrings and the clothes recovered.
On July 20, the Department of Justice panel of
prosecutors headed by Senior State Prosecutor Theodor Villanueva
granted the request of the defense lawyer for a reexamination of the
pieces of evidence gathered by the police. The following day, Fortun
went to the crime laboratory of the Philippine National Police to
examine the pieces of evidence gathered by police.
Fortun was the same pathologist who conducted a
forensic examination on the body of the wife of broadcaster and
television news anchor Ted Failon.
Aguinaldo submitted the findings of Fortun and
Magtanong to the Justice department panel, along with a supplemental
counter-affidavit of his clients.
He maintained that Ruby Rose should only be
considered as missing until it is established that she is really
dead.
The lawyer earlier pointed out to the panel that
the size 38 blouse worn by the victim when recovered was too small
for Ruby Rose.
Aguinaldo also questioned why hemorrhages and
fractured ribs in the body were not mentioned in the death
certificate submitted with the complaint.
The other respondents to the case are Spyke
Discalzo, Eric Fernandez, Obet de la Cruz and Robert Ponce. All four
denied the allegations of Montero in their counter-affidavits
submitted to the panel.
The suspects were charged with murder by the
Metro Manila office of the Philippine National Police after the
discovery of the alleged body of Ruby Rose.
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