CEBU CITY, Philippines – The camp of the 17-year-old minor who was tagged as the suspect behind the gruesome killing of Christine Lee Silawan believes the evidence against their client isn’t strong.
In a phone interview with reporters, lawyer Vincent Isles, legal counsel of the suspect, said they will be filing their counter affidavit next week in the hopes to reverse the murder charges lodged against the accused before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office last Monday, March 18, 2019.
Read more: NBI recovers porn materials, other contents from ‘destroyed’ phone of Silawan’s murder suspect
“There is little and weak evidence to show that Child X (referring to the 17-year-old suspect) was responsible for the murder,” said Isles.
“We will file next week our counter affidavit,” he added.
The 17-year-old suspect (center face covered with cloth) is escorted by NBI agents to the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office, where a murder complaint was filed against him for the killing of Christine Lee Silawan. | CDN Digital/Tonee Despojo
READ MORE: NBI-7 chief: Suspect in Christine Lee Silawan murder, 17-year-old boy, nabbed
According to Isles, the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage that the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) is using as evidence against his client is not authenticated.
“And given that it was Christine shown throughout the CCTV, walay (witness) nakaidentify nga katong kauban niya is Child X,” he added. (There is no witness who could identify that the person she was with is Child X.)
READ MORE: NBI-7 confident of case against 17-year-old suspect in Christine Lee Silawan’s murder
But the NBI-7 remained confident that they have strong evidence against the suspect.
“Approach ng NBI is scientific,” said lawyer Tomas Enrile, NBI- 7 director. (The approach of the NBI is scientific.)
Enrile also said the suspect is undergoing DNA examination to help investigators gather more evidence and information. However, he refused to divulge further details pending official results.
READ MORE: Christine Lee’s mom relieved suspect is arrested but still hopes killing didn’t happen
“Hindi pa rin tapos yung cybercrime division natin sa pag-inspect nang Facebook accounts nang suspect at victim natin,” he added. (The cybercrime division isn’t done inspecting the Facebook accounts of the suspect and the victim.)
Operatives from the NBI- 7 arrested the suspect last Saturday, March 16, 2019 in his residence at Barangay Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City.
CCTV videos of the suspect allegedly accompanying Silawan hours before she was reported missing, and later found dead on a vacant lot in Barangay Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City on March 11, were presented to the public last Monday, March 18.
The suspect’s family, however, claimed that he was not with Silawan during those times. /bmjo