Editor may be summoned for wife’s slay

The magazine editor accused of murdering his wife last Sept. 6 in Makati City will come face to face with the police officer who tagged him as the possible killer.

Suspect Ibarra Gutierrez, 57, is expected to be summoned by the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office, along with Police Officer 2 Dominador Robles of the Makati City police, Gutierrez’s accuser.

The Makati Prosecutor’s Office is studying and evaluating the parricide complaint against Gutierrez and will subpoena him if they find a reason to do so.

Assistant City Prosecutor Henry Salazar has been assigned to handle the preliminary investigation of the murder of Delia Gutierrez, 51, chief executive officer of Media G8way Corp. (MGC).

Gutierrez, who initially told Robles that his wife committed suicide, is accused of slashing his wife’s throat and stabbing her repeatedly with a kitchen knife.

Salazar, in an interview with The Star, said he has not yet received an official copy of the charge sheet and other records of the case.

He said he would look into the basic facts of the case once he obtains the charge sheet and other records.

Salazar said he would subpoena all the involved parties if he finds enough reason to proceed.

He explained that after hearing the statement of both sides, he would then schedule a preliminary investigation to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant the filing of a case in court.

Gutierrez, through his lawyer Teddy Rigoroso, has denounced the filing of charges against him saying Robles, who led the probe, zeroed in on him based on circumstantial evidence that merely places him at the crime scene.

Delia Gutierrez, was found dead at the comfort room of her office at the 3rd floor of the Eurovilla II Condominium Building at No. 118 Rufino Street, Legazpi Village, Barangay San Lorenzo, Makati City last Sept. 6.

According to Robles’investigation, which took two months and two days to finish, several employees point to Ibarra Gutierrez as the last person who was seen entering and exiting his wife’s office on the day she was killed.

The couple holds top posts in MGC, the publisher of computer and IT magazines like PC World and Computerworld. – Mike Frialde