DFA favors police custody for Sef

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) believes Australian authorities could better protect Sef Gonzales while he is in police custody.

Lawyer Antonio Curameng, DFA consular affairs division chief, said yesterday there is no official word of the Sydney police taking custody of the young Gonzales but embassy officials believe the authorities are concerned about his safety.

"The police there couldn’t take chances because the family was almost wiped out and they’re concerned for his safety," Curameng said.

The DFA added that the authorities may not be able to immediately release the result of the forensic examinations to assure an "air-tight" case for the prosecution.

In Sydney, Consul General Libran Cabactulan said he will attend the interment of Ted Gonzales, his wife Mary Josephine Loiva and their daughter Claudine today.

No confirmation was made by the DFA on reports that the slain lawyer wished to be cremated.

"No report in that regard. Ted may have wished cremation but there is no word to that effect from the embassy in Canberra," he said.

The time of death of the victims, Curameng said, has not yet been established by the police.

Gonzales, 46, was found stabbed to death in the hallway by Sef, 20, who returned to the family’s home in the suburb of North Ryde before midnight July 10.

He also found his mother, Mary Josephine, 43, in the living room of the two-story home and 18-year-old sister Claudine in an upstairs bedroom with their throats cut.

Sources close to the police investigation said a racial slur was daubed on a wall close to one of the bodies but detectives still have not established a motive for the killings.

Investigators believe Mr. Gonzales was slain after he disturbed the killers of his wife and daughter. According to the story, police said Sef left for a night on the town about 8 p.m. and arrived home about 11:45 p.m. – Pia Lee Brago