Slain media exec’s husband told to answer rap

The Makati City prosecutor’s office has ordered the husband of slain Media G8way Corp. (MGC) publisher and chairwoman Delia Gutierrez to answer the parricide charges filed against him by the police.

Assistant City Prosecutor Henry Salazar instructed Ibarra Gutierrez to present himself before a preliminary investigation hearing on Nov. 28.

He was also ordered to submit a counter-affidavit along with any other evidence to refute police findings pointing to him as the killer.

Delia, 51, was found dead inside the comfort room of her office in Makati City on Nov. 6. Her throat was slashed and she had multiple stab wounds in different parts of the body believed to have been inflicted with a kitchen knife found at the crime scene.

After two months, PO2 Dominador Robles of the Makati City police filed parricide charges against the 57-year-old Ibarra who initially told investigators that his wife probably committed suicide.

Salazar is now evaluating the charge sheet to determine if there is probable cause to indict Ibarra, editor-in-chief, president and chief executive officer of MGC.

Robles, who led the investigation, was also summoned to appear at the preliminary investigation to back the complaint that he filed against Ibarra.

Ibarra’s lawyer said Salazar issued subpoenas to both sides, who will finally come face to face with each other for the first time since the parricide charge was filed.

"The order is for us to appear for preliminary investigation hearing and submit counter-affidavits on the same day," lawyer Teddy Rigoroso told The STAR in an interview.

However, he said he will ask Salazar to give him until Dec. 5 to file his client’s response to the charges against him.

The police filed parricide charges against the husband on Nov. 8 based on Robles’ seven-page report, which showed how circumstantial evidence pointed to Ibarra as the possible killer.

Witnesses said Ibarra was the last person seen to enter and leave his wife’s office before and after he found her body sprawled on the floor on the comfort room.

The husband’s camp cried foul over the filing of charges believing that Robles’ investigation was flawed and biased.

Police said an autopsy revealed that Delia could not have committed suicide considering the number and severity of her wounds.

But the husband’s camp contended that the police focused its investigation on only one angle instead of considering other possibilities.

"We are now preparing our counter-affidavit but we will have to ask for more time to complete and finish it," Rigoroso said.