BALLISTIC examination of slugs and shells recoverd from vehicle of the late lawyer Noel Archival and the vicinity where he was slain points to at least four firearms used in the crime.
Chief Supt. Danilo Constantino, chief of Police Regional Office (PRO-7), yesterday said analysis of evidence from the crime scene indicates that two M16 rifles and two 9 mm handguns were used in Archival’s slaying that also killed his driver and an aide, and seriously injuring another.
The M16 is a high-powered Vietnam-era assault rifle and is the standard issue of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is fed with 5.56 mm bullets.
Archival along with Edu Miñoza and Alejandro Jayme died on the spot while Paolo Cortes sustained a gunshot wound on his arm.
At least 31 bullets from an M16 rifle penetrated the Ford Escape vehicle of Archival.
Early this week, two facial composites of the alleged assailants were also released by the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).
The facial composites were from testimonies of car wash boys who claim they saw empty M16 shells in a silver pickup that was serviced in their shop in Cebu City.
Archival and his aides had just come from Dumaguete City where they had attended a hearing when they were waylaid in a secluded stretch of highway in barangay Coro, Dalaguete town in southern Cebu on Feb. 18.
CCTV footage from the Dalaguete town hall revealed Archival’s car in between a red automobile and a silver pickup truck. They stopped momentarily in front of the town hall to give way to traffic.