Other motives eyed in actor’s death

Police are banking on the results of three key examinations in determining the real cause of the death of actor Tyron Perez in Valenzuela City.

Should the tests reveal that Perez committed suicide, Senior Insp. Arthur Quiñones, head of the investigation unit, told the Inquirer that the case can “definitely” be declared closed.

“As of now, all the evidence points to (suicide), but we cannot conclude that this is really what happened. We are investigators; we have to entertain other possible angles still,” Quiñones said over the phone.

While several quarters have been quick to conclude that the actor killed himself because of personal problems, police have repeatedly denied that they have dismissed foul play in their investigation.

Perez, who appeared on the talent search program “StarStruck,” was found dead inside his black Toyota Altis parked in the service road of the Northern Luzon Expressway around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

He was found with a lone gunshot wound in the right temple. A .22 cal. revolver was also found inside the car.

He and his wife, Liv, were having marital problems, she admitted on television, so they had not been living together in their house in Parañaque City.

Reports also said that Perez had revealed his plan to commit suicide to family and friends.

According to Quiñones, all the information that police had gathered so far formed part of an initial investigation, this until the results of the paraffin, ballistics and digital forensics examinations come out possibly next week.

He said that the results of these tests were “conclusive.”

“If through the paraffin test, we find that there is gunpowder in the actor’s hands, through the ballistics exam that the bullet that killed him was from the .22 cal. gun we found in the car, and, through the digital forensics exam of his cell phone we confirm the statements of some of his friends that he had plans to commit suicide, then we can conclude that it was a suicide. It’s a closed case,”Quiñones explained.

Meanwhile, PO2 Jon-Jon Pagtama of the investigation unit told the Inquirer that the police have yet to get the statement of the actor’s wife.

Quiñones said that this could corroborate the other statements already issued by some of the victim’s friends.

He said that investigators would talk to Liv as soon as she was “available,” adding that the actor’s wife was still in a “period of mourning.”

If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please reach out to the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH). Their crisis hotlines are available at 1553 (Luzon-wide landline toll-free), 0917-899-USAP (8727), 0966-351-4518, and 0908-639-2672. For more information, visit their website: (https://doh.gov.ph/NCMH-Crisis-Hotline)

Alternatively, you can contact Hopeline PH at the following numbers: 0917-5584673, 0918-8734673, 88044673. Additional resources are available at ngf-mindstrong.org, or connect with them on Facebook at Hopeline PH.