No DNA test results for trial – CIDG

With the case being readied in court, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) appears reluctant to present the DNA test results on the blood samples taken from the Pajero of suspect Bella Ruby Santos.

CIDG-7 lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna said they’re unsure whether or not to present the DNA test results when the kidnap with homicide case filed against Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths is tried in court.

It was over three months ago when the Cebu Provincial Police Office sent blood samples to the National Police lab in Manila that were taken from the Pajero’s back compartment.

The tests were done to verify if the blood came from 6-year-old murder victim Ellah Joy Pique.

“The blood samples are evidentiary matters. We are still deliberating whether or not to submit the results,” dela Cerna said.

In a press conference held at the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) last Wednesday, dela Cerna said the Task Force Ellah Joy believes that the evidence they gathered are enough to prove the guilt of Santos and Griffiths.

The evidence he referred to include the testimonies of witnesses who positively identified Santos and Griffiths as the same persons who kidnapped and disposed of Ellah Joy’s remains.

Dela Cerna said the task force is unsure whether or not to use the DNA results during trial. “If needed, we will present the results,” Dela Cerna said.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, Cebu provincial police chief and concurrent task force spokesman, was tight-lipped about the test results.

Lawyers for Santos and Griffiths challenged the task force to produce the DNA test results.

“Why is it that until now no results are presented by Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador? Is it not a fact that the blood samples turned out to be negative and not that of Ellah Joy?,” said lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo.

Villagonzalo requested the prosecutors’ office to dismiss the complaint against Santos and Griffiths for “lack of merit, factual and legal basis.”

He said Comendador may have found it safe not to attach the “negative results” of the DNA test to avoid weakening their case.

The Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office recently found probable cause to indict Santos and Griffiths on charges of kidnapping with homicide in relation to Ellah Joy Pique’s death last Feb. 8.

The task force pointed to Santos’ Pajero that witnesses pointed out as the same vehicle used in transporting Ellah Joy.

The vehicle was seized by the CIDG-7 inside Santos’ home in barangay Inayagan, Naga City. With Correspondents Chito Aragon and Gabriel C. Bonjoc