Car similar to description of vehicle where beauty queen Catherine Camilon’s body was allegedly boarded found on November 10, 2023 in Batangas city. (Photo from PNP Public Information Office)
The Philippine National Police have confirmed on Tuesday the missing beauty pageant candidate Catherine Camilon had been inside the abandoned vehicle earlier found in Batangas City.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame, PNP public information office chief Col. Jean Fajardo said based on the tests conducted by the Forensic Group, the DNA of the hair strands recovered in the red Honda CRV matched with the DNA of Camilon’s parents.
The blood samples found in the vehicle, however, are still under forensic examination.
“This positive match in the DNA profile confirms that Camilon had, indeed, been inside the recovered Honda CRV,” Fajardo said.
Stronger case
“This is not just circumstantial evidence. This would corroborate the statements of two witnesses who saw a bloodied woman being transferred to the red Honda CRV, and give credence that it was Camilon who they saw,” Fajardo added.
The PNP noted the DNA results were a positive development in pursuing a stronger case against the suspects.
According to Fajardo, investigators are also looking into forensic evidence to identify the other suspects in Camilon’s disappearance.
On Nov. 6, two witnesses surfaced and told the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) when they passed by a subdivision in Bauan town on the night of Oct. 12, they saw the bloodied body of Camilon being transferred by three male persons from a gray Nissan Juke into a red Honda CRV.
Without plate number or conduction sticker, the red Honda CRV was found unattended by the police at a vacant lot in Barangay Dumuclay, Batangas City, on Nov. 9.
Police also recovered “17 hair strands and 12 swabs of blood samples” from the said vehicle.
The CIDG filed a complaint for violation of Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code (kidnapping and serious illegal detention) before the Batangas Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on Nov. 13, against four suspects. INQ