Campbell’s mom testifies

LAGAWE, Ifugao – The 65-year-old mother of slain American Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell took the witness stand yesterday during the first of the two-day scheduled hearing on the ongoing murder trial of her daughter’s killer, Juan Donald Duntugan.

Linda Campbell, testifying before Judge Esther Piscozo-Flor of the Banaue Regional Trial Court, told the court the pain she felt upon learning that her second child, who had been away as Peace Corps volunteer in far-off Philippines, had been brutally killed.

According to lawyer Reynaldo Agranzamendez, head of the team of private prosecutors representing the Campbell family, “Mrs. Campbell’s testimony was intended to show the picture of a family aggrieved and a little about Julia Campbell as a person.”

Mrs. Campbell was the only witness presented when the trial pushed through in the afternoon after the reported plea bargain offer by the defense did not materialize.

Reports were rife yesterday that the defense might offer a guilty plea to a lesser offense in exchange for a lighter sentence.

Judge Flor admitted having received such feelers from the defense but clarified that the offer, if ever made, would have to be accepted by the prosecution before she could act upon it.

The trial resumes today.

“The defense did not make any plea bargain to us, the accused merely acknowledged that he had killed Julia, but said that this was done accidentally,” Agranzamendez said.

Duntugan, 25, admitted killing the 40-year-old Campbell after she allegedly bumped into him while she was on her way back to her rented cottage at Batad village in Banaue town.

The suspect said he thought it was a neighbor with whom he had a grudge that he had hit with a stone.