Top NBI man now in Sydney for Gonzales slay probe

BAGUIO CITY – The chief of the national Bureau of Investigation in the Cordillera Administrative Region (NBI-CAR) has flown to Sydney to assist authorities investigating the murder of a Filipino lawyer, his wife and daughter in Sydney two weeks ago.

Lawyer Rickson Chiong, newly designated NBI-CAR director based in this city, left Manila Tuesday night even as agents here are completing the comprehensive profiling of lawyer Teodoro Gonzales, a Baguio native who migrated to Sydney in 1991 and eventually became an Australian citizen.

Acting NBI-CAR director George Jularbal said results of the profiling would hopefully assist Australian authorities in uncovering the truth behind the murders.

He said close relatives of the victim living in this city have been questioned to help build an accurate profile.

Gonzales was found stabbed to death in the hallway by his son Sef, 20, who returned to the family’s home in the suburb of North Ryde before midnight July 10.

The mother, Mary Josephine Loiva, 43, was found by the son in the living room of the two-story home and his 18-year-old sister Clodine in an upstairs bedroom with their throats cut. A racial slur was daubed on a wall close to one of the bodies.

Meanwhile, Frederick Gonzales, the slain lawyer’s brother, said Australian authorities have assured them that the result of a forensic investigation would be released in a month’s time.

"They are really combing the murder site, and we hope to see results soon," he said.