Nida meant everything to me — Strunk

"Nobody, and nobody, can ever tell the world that my 22-year marriage with Nida was on the verge of collapse."

This was the firm statement given by American Rod Lauren Strunk to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as he denied persistent rumors peddled by investigators that he was the one who masterminded the plot to kill his wife, actress Nida Blanca, more than a year ago.

"Only Nida and I could have said with authority where our relationship stood. Nida was my life. Without her, I am nothing. Nida and I loved one another. She was everything to me," he told the three-man panel investigating the Blanca murder.

In a 61-page counter-affidavit, which was sworn before California notary public Janet Greenhow and certified as true by Secretary of State Bill Jones, Strunk also denied knowing alleged self-confessed killer Philip Medel Jr.

Defense lawyers Alma Mallonga, Dennis Manalo and Noel Lazaro stressed their client was simply a "fall guy" who had been portrayed through trial by publicity as the alleged culprit "because investigators had to make an excuse for their sloppy investigation."

Strunk likewise pointed out that it was illogical for him to kill the multi-awarded actress if needed, as the police and NBI claimed, he depended on her for his daily subsistence or that he stood to inherit properties as a result of her demise.

"If it is true, as authorities speculate, that I am a do-nothing, and a spendthrift, what motive would I have to kill her? If it is true, as they say, that I was not legally married to Nida under Philippine laws and therefore did not stand to inherit from her properties, what motive would I have to kill her?" he asked.

"I did not in any way, form, or manner, plan, assist, or participate in the killing of my wife. The thought of harming her has not once, in the 22 years of our marriage, even crossed my mind," Strunk, who is now in California, told prosecutors. "I have no reason and no motivation to kill my wife who was the center of my existence, my love and my life."

Strunk also expressed hope he could patch up differences with his stepdaughter Kaye, with whom he bears no grudge but "who obviously believes the accusations against me."

"Whatever she may think of me, she must know deep in her heart that I could not have had a part in the death of her mother. I hope that someday she can find peace in the fact that her mother and I truly loved each other," he said. "Today, even as I have every intention of returning to the country at the appropriate time, I probably have nowhere to go back there. Today, I am tired and broken."

He added: "I must survive so that Nida may find her justice. I continue to pray that justice be done in this case. I plead that the real killers of my wife be found, prosecuted and convicted. This the thought that sustains me now."