Duntugan’s lawyers to prove homicide in Campbell trial

By Mike Guimbatan Jr.

LAGAWE, Ifugao — Defense lawyers of the self-confessed killer of US peace corps volunteer Julia Campbell will try to prove that the case was homicide, not murder, when the hearing will resume on April 8.

Defense lawyers Pedro Mayam-o and Eugene Ballitang, counsel of confessed killer Juan Duntugan Jr., 26, said they will be presenting at least three witnesses in the new of the Regional Trial Court’s Branch 34 presided by Judge Esther Flor in Banaue, Ifugao.

The prosecution panel led by lawyer Reynaldo Agranzamendez, counsel of the family of slain peace corps, presented last March 3 its last witness, television broadcaster Jay Ruiz.
During his testimony, Ruiz narrated how he was approached by the family of Duntugan to help in the peaceful surrender of the suspect and exclusive news coverage of Duntugan’s account of the crime.

Jay Ruiz of ABS-CBN narrated that he was assigned to provide media coverage for the search-and-rescue operation for the missing US peace corps volunteer in April 2006.

He said he was approached by a woman, who turned out to be Duntugan’s mother. At that time Duntugan was in hiding, and the cadaver of Campbell was already discovered in a shallow grave.
Duntugan was fetched by Ruiz and a policeman in his hiding place in La Trinidad, Benguet, and brought to the Banaue police to surrender.

Ruiz narrated that in his video interview with Duntugan, the suspect admitted killing the US peace corps volunteer because of rage and mistaken identity.

Defense lawyers claimed that the crime should be homicide, which is bailable, because the suspect voluntarily surrendered and admitted his guilt during the interview with Ruiz.

He repeated his admission during his interrogation by the police at the Ifugao police headquarters in Lagawe.

Duntugan had said he was tired and resting at a portion of the pathway ascending to Barangay Batad when he was bumped by somebody from behind.

Because he was tired and had problems, he retaliated in blind rage because that was his impulse
at the moment, not knowing that the person he had killed was a foreigner.

Prosecution lawyers, however, did not believe this account of the suspects, citing the gravity of the blows and use of superior strength.

Lawyer Agranzamendez and his associate Mike Liceralde, hired by the Campbell family, remained firm on the murder charge.