Father of stray bullet victim still optimistic case will be solved soon

Stephanie Nicole Ella was hit by a stray bullet as she was watching fireworks in front of their house on New Year’s Eve. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

With many other issues now competing for the attention of the public, the family of 7-year-old stray bullet victim Stephanie Nicole Ella remains optimistic that the case will be brought to a close.

Once a bustling and crowded alley, San Lorenzo Ruiz Street in Malaria, Barangay (village) 185, in the northern part of Caloocan City  where the Ellas live, is now a quiet place.

The curious crowds that gathered to see VIPs visiting Nicole’s wake are now gone, replaced by fallen leaves from huge mango and acacia trees. The spot where Nicole was hit by a bullet while watching fireworks on New Years’ Eve is barely noticeable except for the wax drippings from melted candles which mark it.

The only things reminding people in the community of what happened are posters displayed near the entrance to the alley and in front of Nicole’s home with the message: “Reward: P2.4 Million. Help Nicole. Magbigay ng impormasyon sa ikalulutas ng kaso (Give information to help resolve the case).”

Inside the Ellas’ house, things are also back to normal. The couch they moved outside their house to accommodate Nicole’s coffin has been returned to its usual place in the living room, along with the home sound system and TV set.

“I’ve told my wife to start stowing away Nicole’s things so we could tidy up our room,” Jay Ella, Nicole’s father, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. His family occupies one of the rooms in his parents’ house. “However, we haven’t done so as we have other things keeping us busy at the moment.”

One of the things they are now focusing on is Nicole’s case. Nicole, the first of Jay and Ellaine Ella’s two children, was hit by a stray bullet as she was watching fireworks in front of their house on New Year’s Eve.

With the bullet still lodged in her head, Nicole fought to live for two days at East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. However, after eight cardiac arrests, doctors pronounced her dead on the afternoon of Jan. 2.

Her death has sparked widespread clamor for a stricter gun control law.

But while most of the hype over the case is gone, Jay is still hopeful that the gunman will be brought to justice.

“We’re convinced that the case will be resolved soon because we are hopeful that there will be witnesses who will surface and help identify my daughter’s killer,” he said.

Despite his optimism, he admits that progress has been slow more than a month after Nicole’s death.

“It’s frustrating because we know we can’t do anything. We’re not quite satisfied with what’s happening because it seems the issue is really dying down,” Jay said.

He added that the Caloocan police which is still investigating the incident, has not updated the family about developments. The local government  which offered a P200,000 reward for the arrest of Nicole’s killer has also not been in touch for quite some time.

“We only learn of developments in our daughter’s case when it is featured in the news,” he said as he appealed to witnesses to come forward.

“We just want information related to the case. They don’t need to identify themselves. They can just go straight to the investigators or call or text us,” he added.