DOJ summons Nida’s husband, suspect on Friday

The Department of Justice (DOJ) summoned yesterday the husband of slain movie actress Nida Blanca for questioning on his alleged complicity in the Nov. 7 murder.

Also summoned by the DOJ were confessed killer Philip Medel Jr., 54, and a certain Mike Martinez who allegedly acted as go-between in the murder plot.

"We believe that Rod (Lauren) Strunk will appear if he has nothing to hide. It’s up to him to appear at 9:30 a.m. on Friday," said State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco.

Police have charged Strunk with parricide before the DOJ, while Medel and Martinez were charged with murder.

Velasco said the Australian-born American husband of Blanca refused to accept the subpoena, saying he would wait for his lawyers first, prompting the process servers to leave it with a barangay official of White Plains subdivision where the couple lived.

Velasco said they deferred the filing of cases against Medel as they are still checking the authenticity of his affidavit.

"We have to take into consideration that this is a confession. Maximum liability in this case is death, of course. We didn’t file the charges so that we could verify the allegations during the preliminary investigation," Velasco added.

He also said the DOJ has directed the criminal investigation and detection group in Camp Crame to conduct polygraph and psychological tests on Medel to determine his credibility.

"We are not doubting his sanity. All we want is to have an airtight case and that no fall guys are charged if ever we file the case in court. The polygraph test would be a big help to us, especially if he is lying," Velasco said.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is still matching results of DNA test on samples taken from Blanca’s fingernails and toenails with that of Medel’s.

The NBI said the PNP Crime Laboratory at Camp Crame was also doing the same on samples taken from Medel’s T-shirt.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said a background check on the suspect showed he had a criminal record for qualified trespassing in Cebu City in 1998.

The NBI said Wycoco was also looking into reports that Medel, a former mercenary in Angola, worked as a security consultant for Jude Estrada, son of ousted President Joseph Estrada.

The NBI has also launched a manhunt for Martinez tagged by Medel as the person who contacted him for the job on Blanca, as well as two women who allegedly took part in killing the actress.

In his handwritten 10-page confession, Medel said Martinez promised him P50,000 to act as lookout as their client settled a score with the wife of a Chinese businessman accused of estafa.

Medel said after the attack on Blanca, Strunk promised that the money would be delivered to him by Martinez.

Medel said Strunk’s promise never materialized.

Director Nestorio Gualberto, head of Task Force Marsha conducting the probe on the Blanca murder, said they considered the case 25 percent solved with the confession of Medel.

Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina, spokesman for the task force, said the investigators were looking for Blanca’s last will and testament considered a critical evidence in the case.

"As to the will, that is what we are looking into now. As far as we know, they (suspects) were looking for documents," Espina said.

The couple’s relationship allegedly turned sour after Blanca — Dorothy Jones in real life — left all of her assets to her only daughter by a previous marriage, Katherine "Kaye" Torres. – With reports from Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde, Jose Aravilla