CEBU CITY – A separate examination conducted by the forensic team of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) showed that Christine Lee Silawan was raped before she was killed.
Dr. Erwin Erfe, chief of PAO’s forensic team, told reporters that the 16-year-old girl had abrasions and signs of hematoma in her genitalia.
PAO’s forensic team conducted its own autopsy last March 22 upon the request of the victim’s parents.
Silawan was found dead last March 11 in a vacant lot in Barangay Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City. The girl’s face was skinned and some of her internal organs was missing.
Erfe added that a chemical, probably sulfuric acid, was poured on the face of the victim that caused the skin to peel off.
The result of the PAO’s re-autopsy contradicted the previous findings of the PNP Crime Laboratory.
Dr. Benjamin Lara has said that there were no indications that the victim was raped.
In previous interviews, Police Col. Limuel Obon, chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, said he believed that the perpetrator skinned off the girl’s face using a bladed weapon due to the absence of strong odor and the presence of fresh wounds when the victim’s half-naked body was found.
Lara declined to comment on the recent findings of PAO. “We are still waiting for guidance from the national headquarters,” said Lara.
In an interview yesterday, Obon said the contradicting results of the two autopsies will not affect the investigation. “It will not create confusion. Those findings will be used later on,” said Obon.
Obon said there was nothing wrong with the earlier result of the autopsy conducted by the PNP Crime Lab since what they released were just “basic results.”
“They were constrained to come up with a basic result because we were thinking that we could arrest the suspects immediately,” Obon said.
Obon said although the PNP Crime Lab had its initial findings, it still conducted further examinations. “They conducted swabbing that was subjected for more examination,” Obon said.
Obon said PAO may have discovered that the victim was raped because it has the equipment. “They have the tool that can enlarge the image of the wounds,” Obon said.
Erfe said forensic examiners used macro lenses in examining the wounds of the victim.
Obon said they also welcomed the separate investigation that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is conducting.
The CHR is looking into the possibility that fraternity members are behind the gruesome killing.
“We welcome these investigations conducted by different agencies because this is a complex crime, not just an ordinary crime,” Obon said.
Obon said the police’s Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Christine Lee is in constant communication with the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI 7).
It was the NBI 7 agents who arrested Silawan’s ex-boyfriend as suspect in the crime. The 17-year-old suspect is in custody of social workers and has been charged with murder before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office.
Obon said investigations to arrest the other perpetrators are ongoing. “We respect the lead that NBI is pursuing. We have said from the beginning that the murder was done by more than just one person. We are helping the NBI since we have more operatives on the ground,” said Obon.
Obon said PAO has assured to help the police with its “scientific approach” that will help strengthen the cases that will be filed against the perpetrators. (Calvin Cordova)
