4 charged in stude’s rape-slay

Bloodstains found at the apartment of the one of the suspects prompted the operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to file charges of rape with homicide and robbery against three men and a woman before the Pasig court yesterday morning.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said they lodged charges against Michael and Reyson Derueda, and Roderick Chico all of barangay Lambakin, San Miguel, Bulacan; and Myra Galut, employed at Pross-Pack Corp. at A. Mabini street, barangay Manggahan, Pasig City.

Mantaring said they were recommended for prosecution after information and evidence allegedly showed that they could be responsible for the death of Fe Docuyanan, a Computer Science student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).

Docuyanan’s naked body was found on Jan. 29 inside her rented apartment in SPS Subdivision at barangay Rosario, Pasig City. She reportedly sustained multiple stab wounds. Investigators said she could have died between 12 noon until 3 p.m.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and NBI-Special Task Force (STF) conducted separate probes into the case. The victim’s sister, Grace, through the intervention of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, sought the NBI’s assistance. She works at the Bureau of Plant Industry.

NBI-STF Head Agent Arnel Dalumpines said they sent a forensic team to the apartment rented by Docuyanan and also conducted an ocular inspection of the unit vacated by Galut. It was in this unit where the male suspects reportedly stayed before they fled to an undisclosed place.

They took samples of bloodstains of the victim from the bathroom of her unit located on the second floor and were able to recover bloodstains from the kitchen sink and rubber mat of Galut’s apartment, which was on the ground floor.

Exam results showed that the bloodstains were of type O blood , "identical to the blood of the victim that was collected from the crime scene," Special Investigator III Garry Menez cited in his report.

He also said the victim’s family confirmed that Docuyanan had type O blood.

Menez added that apartment owner Nabor Panceras said he saw Galut return to her apartment at 8 p.m. on Feb. 11 to get what remained of her personal belongings. He reportedly saw her "so busy cleaning and brushing the kitchen sink."

Panceras became suspicious of what Myra was doing and wondered why "Myra was still cleaning the kitchen sink in spite of the fact that she was already leaving the unit."

This brought the investigators to believe that she might have knowledge of the crime committed but did not report the matter to the authorities to avoid prosecution.

"Her acts of concealing or destroying the body of the crime, or the effects or instruments thereof, in order to prevent its discovery, and also her act of assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime are more than enough basis for this investigator-on-case to implicate her as an accessory to the crime charged against the principal suspects," Menez said.

Witnesses described the three male suspects as "mga presko and bastos (rude and uncouth)" and that they had been staying at Galut’s unit for about a week before the Docuyanan was killed.

On the day of her death, there were no other people inside the apartments except for the tenants and the three visitors.

Jerson Dali-os said that at 1 p.m. of Jan. 29 he heard noises coming from the apartment unit of the victim. He also reportedly spotted Derueda, who is Galut’s reported live-in partner, smoking near the stairs near Docuyanan’s unit.

It was only when the victim’s sister, Grace, went home at around 8 p.m., or five hours after the incident, when they discovered Docuyanan’s body.

The PNP Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered a kitchen knife and a pair of scissors with a black handle from the crime scene.

Galut reportedly gave contradictory answers. When asked by the SOCO if she owned the scissors, at first she gave a negative answer but later on admitted to owning the scissors.

The SOCO report showed indications that although the victim was found naked, there were no signs of penetration. However, this does not negate the possibility that she was raped. The NBI believes that there was an attempt or intention on the part of the suspects to sexually molest her.

They also discovered that her personal belongings, including cash money and two cellular phones, were missing from the apartment.

The four suspects remain at large.