Witness confesses seeing DILG officer crying for help before murder

NAGA CITY, Philippines—Full of remorse, a witness surfaced to confess he could have helped save the life of murdered Department of Interior and Local Government municipal officer Ayres Napire had he acted decisively when he saw her crying for help and struggling inside the car of the suspected murderer, a government prosecutor revealed Thursday.

Prosecutor Virgilio Balane Jr., who withheld the name of the witness pending the resolution of the murder complaint filed at the Naga City Prosecutor’s Office, described the witness as an employee of a bank and a law graduate who was at an ATM in a department store along the national highway.  The witness saw Napire struggling inside a car on March 8, the day she was killed.

Dennis Erich Imperial Medina, former DILG officer of Naga City, has been accused of strangling to death his co-worker Napire, the DILG officer of Bombon town.  The Naga City Prosecutor’s Office has yet to determine if there is probable cause to indict Medina for murder even after he executed a confession before a government lawyer.

Balane said the witness was located by the Philippine National Police after he wrote on Facebook that he saw the victim tied down to a seat inside the car of the suspect and heard her cries while the suspect was withdrawing from the ATM.

He said the witness told them in a sworn statement he felt remorse because he failed to help the woman.

Balane said the witness described Medina as fidgety at the time and was always watching his car while withdrawing from the ATM.  Medina hastily drove away after taking money from the machine, the witness recalled.

The witness actually told a village watchman, who was nearby at that time, about the suspicious-looking vehicle but the car had left by then, Balane said.

The prosecutor said the footage of the CCTV installed at the ATM, obtained by the prosecutor’s office, confirmed the witness’ recollection of the events. The witness could be seen watching the parked car of Medina in the CCTV footage.

Balane said the panel of prosecutors handling the murder complaint against Medina would conduct two clarificatory hearings before making a decision.

The panel of prosecutors is headed by Cyril Manzano with Balane and Antonette Sumayao as members.

The murder case was filed by the victim’s husband, Gerald Napire, on March 14, after Medina confessed to the police that he strangled Ayres to death inside his car at 1:30 p.m. on March 8.

After the confession, Medina, 35, a resident of Villa Sorabella, Naga City, led police to the decomposing body of Napire inside the trunk of his car that he parked at the back of a hotel here.

The case investigator, PO2 Jeffrey Roz, said Medina killed Napire after she refused to loan him money.

Roz, citing the findings of his investigation, said Medina was addicted to online gambling, which had forced his wife Sheila to leave him. Sheila, the best friend of Napire, has been living with her two children by Medina in her hometown in Guinobatan, Albay.

Sheila was the one who reported Ayres’ disappearance to the police in the afternoon of March 8.  Sheila and Ayres were town mates and classmates in law school at the Aquinas University.

Roz said two witnesses identified Medina as the last person seen with Napire in the morning of March 8 in Bombon, Camarines Sur, hours before she was killed.

He said they found out that Medina got hold of Napire’s three ATM cards and was able to withdraw a total amount of P120,000 in three transactions, using two ATM cards.

Balane said the bank at the department store pledged to provide them the records of withdrawal from Napire’s ATM account.