Ex-CA Justice Pizarro shot at the back of right ear — NBI

MANILA, Philippines — Former Court of Appeals Justice Normandie Pizarro, whose body was earlier confirmed to be the one found in Tarlac province last October, was shot at the back of his ear, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

“He was shot from the back of the ear,” NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said over ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday when asked about findings on the examination on Pizarro’s body.

READ: Missing retired judge found dead in Tarlac, says NBI

In a text message to INQUIRER.net, Lavin said the entry of the bullet was at the back of the victim’s right ear and the exit was at the upper left portion of the head.

However, he said they could not tell yet if the victim’s right hand and fingers from his left hand were chopped off first before he was shot, or if it was done after he was shot.

Lavin added that the NBI found it hard to examine the body as it was already deteriorating when they found it on October 30, seven days after the retired justice had gone missing.

The NBI has also yet to arrive at the conclusion of the probe as one of the four persons of interest in the crime has been giving investigators conflicting statements.

According to Lavin, one of the persons of interest came over to the bureau with his lawyer but seems to be holding back some information.

“Two or three times he came to the NBI and he has given us conflicting statements. The earlier statements would not match with the pieces of evidence we gathered on the ground,” he said. “Like he got off the car somewhere in Tarlac before the car was found abandoned. This our agents found to be very dubious.”

“Meron siyang fear, meron pa siyang takot, parang alanganin siya (He has fears, and it seems he was hesitating),” he added.

According to Lavin, investigators have established that the said person of interest, who is in his “senior years,” was the last person to be with Pizarro on October 23, the day that the retired justice had gone missing.

“But we could not clearly establish at which point in time that there were other persons with them. Siya ‘yung nakita naming sumakay ng car ni justice (He was the one who rode the car of the justice) after the justice left his hotel in Clark and then they drove off.

“Around midday they were already somewhere in Tarlac and later in the afternoon on October 23 nawala na ‘yung signal (the signal was lost). Late afternoon on October 23, the car was already found abandoned in San Simon, Pampanga,” he said.

Lavin also said there was no signal anymore at the place where the person of interest claimed he had alighted from the vehicle of Pizarro.

According to the NBI official, Pizarro and the person of interest met in a casino. Lavin said investigators received information that the person of interest owed the former justice less than P100,000, but they also received another tip that he owed the latter some P200,000.

He said investigators are supposing that the amount is related to gambling.

As for the motive for the crime, Lavin said they are looking at all angles, including the previous work of Pizarro in the Court of Appeals or a personal angle, or a “mix of both.”

“And we are not discounting the possibility that two or three or all of the persons of interest may have conspired to kill the justice. That is a possibility, we are not discounting that,” he also said.

JE