A JUDGE was picked to handle the kidnapping with homicide case against Bella Ruby Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths.
The case was raffled to Judge Ester Veloso of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 6 raffled yesterday.
No arrest warrant was issued yet against the two accused as of 5 p.m. yesterday.
The Children Legal Bureau (CLB) requested the court to issue a hold-departure order against Santos. CLB’s pleading is scheduled for a hearing at 8:30 a.m. today.
CLB lawyers Joan Saniel-Amit, Noemi Truya-Abarientos, and Jo-ann Suarez-Pabriaga entered their appearance as as counsel for the family of the slain Ellah Joy Pique.
Santos’ defense lawyers Rameses Villagonzalo, Julius Caesar Entice, and Lyndon Maceren also entered their appearance.
Villagonzalo said Griffiths, a British national, will be represented by a separate set of lawyers.
Santos and Griffiths were pointed by police witnesses as the kidnappers of Ellah Joy who dumped the child’s body at a cliff in Barili town last February 8.
Santos’ Mitsubishi Pajero was purportedly used in the crime.
Judge Meinrado Paredes, who issued the search warrant for the police raid of Santos’ house in Naga city, yesterday turned over documents of the evidence proceedings.
Defense lawyers plan to request the court to determine whether there is probable cause to issue an arrest warrant against the accused.
Kidnapping with homicide is a capital offense.
If the judge finds the evidence strong, the accused could be held in custody without bail.
Santos promised to surrender if an an arrest warrant is issued.
On the other hand, Griffiths is in the United Kingdom under close monitoring by authorities. He posted bail after his arrest. ./REPORTER ADOR MAYOL