The dismissal of the case against the suspects in the kidnapping and killing of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique is a lesson learned for the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) to be extremely careful and thorough in handling investigations, said CPPO Director Noel Gillamac.
Gillamac said that what happened should serve as an eye-opener for investigators.
Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 6 Judge Ester Veloso had dismissed the kidnapping with homicide case against Bella Ruby Santos. The judge was not convinced on the reliability of the testimony of the child who reportedly saw Ellah Joy being kidnapped outside their school on February 8, 2011.
The child had also testified against the first batch of suspects, Norwegian Sven Erik Berger and fiancee’ Karen Esdrelon who were later cleared of the charges. Another judge who issued the search warrant against Santos had earlier criticized policemen for their inconsistent testimonies.
Pique’s father, Renante, had also blamed former CPPO director Erson Digal for bungling the case.
Digal had insisted on filing the case against Berger and Esdrelon despite having evidence that they got the wrong suspects. The move cost Digal his post, and Renante felt this also cost them the case.
“We should not rely on evidence nga huyang, and at the same time, it should be more on the forensic evidence in the crime scene,” Gillamac said.
“Di gyud angay i-shortcut aron lang ma solve ang kaso,” he added. (We should not do some short cuts just to solve the case.) The police are still uncertain on whether the case will be reopened.
“Di na man gud ta ka organize balik ug special intelligence task group because the court already dismissed the case,”
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