Nida slay: Strunk arrested in US

US marshals have arrested the American husband of slain popular actress Nida Blanca for allegedly masterminding her murder in November 2001, Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong said yesterday.

Roger Lawrence Strunk was "provisionally" arrested Tuesday in an eastern area of California following a request from the Department of Justice after a Pasig court issued an arrest warrant in February.

Datumanong said the government was formally informed of Strunk’s detention and will file an extradition request within 60 days. The Philippines has an extradition treaty with the United States.

"We look forward to having him back in the Philippines, now that he has been arrested through the extradition process so that we can start the trial. We are now preparing the steps with which to get him back to the Philippines," Datumanong said.

State prosecutors charged that Strunk had ordered alleged hit man Philip Medel and two other suspects who are still at large to kill his wife.

Medel, the confessed hit man, was arrested shortly after the killing and accused Strunk of planning the murder.

But he later recanted, claiming police tortured him to confess. Prosecutors said medical examinations had found no evidence to back his claim of torture and that his statement could still be used in court.

They also cited other testimony that Medel told his landlady about Blanca’s death before it became news.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said police have placed Strunk at the scene at the time of the murder. It said the couple allegedly had relationship problems and a dispute over money and property.

Strunk denied Medel’s claims or any involvement in the murder. He left for California in January 2001 after Medel recanted.

Blanca, 65, was found stabbed to death on Nov. 7, 2001, in the back seat of her car in the indoor parking lot of the building in Greenhills, San Juan where she worked as a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Born Dorothy Jones to a US soldier-father and a Filipina mother, Blanca was famous for a 51-year career on Philippine stage, screen and television.

NBI assistant director Lolito Utitco said it would take some time for Strunk to be extradited because a US court would still have to determine if there is sufficient ground for an extradition.

Justice Undersecretary Merceditas Gutierrez said Strunk can file a petition for bail. "We don’t know when the court would decide on his extradition. It would depend on the court," she said.

NBI investigators earlier said they have the testimonies of 25 witnesses who could prove that Strunk masterminded the murder.

A receipt for the Swiss army knife, which Strunk allegedly bought two days before the murder and used as the murder weapon, was found, they added.

Strunk’s umbrella, which investigators said was used to poke Blanca’s body to determine if she was dead, was also found in Blanca’s car, they said.

They said witnesses told them that Strunk always had the umbrella in his van. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe, AFP