Murdered woman’s kin slam cop probe

A day after they said that they are satisfied with the work of the Parañaque City policemen, relatives of Maryelaine Cruz Sanez now admit they have misgivings about the conduct of the investigation.

"Medyo hindi okay," said Sanez’s cousin, lawyer Raymond Delemos, adding this was the reason why the family has solicited the "help of their friends" in the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

For one, Delemos said the evidence recovered by the police as well as the crime scene itself could have been contaminated. "They couldn’t show us fingerprints lifted from the plastic cover which smelled of gas," Delemos said.

Worse, he said, the policemen admitted having spent the P226 they found in Sanez’s possession.

"I don’t know where they used it for. But they told us that they are going to reimburse the money," Delemos said.

The STAR tried but failed to contact case investigator SPO1 Rodolfo Balacuay. Parañaque City police chief Superintendent Ruben Catabona, The STAR was told, was not in his office.

Delemos said that the evidence found by the policemen should have been protected so as not to bungle the investigation.

Sources from the Southern Police District (SPD) Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) told The STAR they were also surprised to learn about the incident when it was reported by the media. "The police should have called us because we are trained to gather and evaluate evidence," a source said.

Sanez, 24, of Bacoor, Cavite, was found by a traffic enforcer badly burned and barely alive on June 3 at the seawall along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque.

A former seawoman and a mother of two, the victim was said to have been suffering from depression at the time of her death.

Delemos also wondered why his cousin was brought to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila and not to the nearly San Juan De Dios Hospital for treatment.

Police have to find a suspect in Sanez’s killing, Delemos said.– Nikko Dizon