RE-AUTOPSY. Photo shows the arrival on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 9, 2021) of the forensics team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) led by deputy director Ferdinand Lavin (second from right) at the St. Peter Chapels in General Santos City for the re-autopsy on the remains of the late flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera. The NBI’s re-autopsy was conducted hours before the 23-year-old’s scheduled interment Sunday morning.(PNA photo by Richelyn Gubalani)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is hopeful it would be able to shed more light on the controversial death of flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera even as her remains were “already contaminated” when it conducted a re-autopsy here on Saturday night.
Lawyer Ferdinand Lavin, NBI deputy director, said some of the evidence they collected appeared deteriorated and compromised since Dacera’s body was already embalmed prior to their autopsy.
He said it might be difficult to establish whether there was sexual abuse before she was found dead in her hotel room in Makati City around noon last Jan. 1, several hours after joining a private New Year’s Eve party.
But Lavin assured they applied the “full forensic investigation” process to determine what really happened to the 23-year-old, whose family is based in Barangay San Isidro here.
The remains of Dacera, who worked for the Philippine Airlines and was staying in Manila at the time of her death, was flown home to this city last Thursday.
The NBI forensic team led by Lavin arrived around 5 p.m. at the St. Peter Chapels here and examined Dacera’s remains for about five hours.
“We know that it was quite impossible (to get proper evidence) considering that there have already been some compromises and the body has shown signs of deterioration but we were not discouraged by that,” he said in an interview with reporters on Saturday night.
Dacera’s remains were so far subjected to four autopsies, including the initial examination conducted by the Southern Police District’s Crime Laboratory Office that ruled the cause of death as “ruptured aortic aneurysm.”
Lavin said they were still able to collect some samples that would help strengthen the ongoing investigation on the death of Dacera, which police authorities and family members believed was a victim of sexual abuse.
He said the samples, which were taken using test kits provided by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, will be processed immediately by their criminal investigation section.
Lavin clarified their re-autopsy is in support of the ongoing investigation of the Philippine National Police on the case and not meant to compare their findings.
He said the agency is also ready to provide protection to any personality, including the 11 persons accused as behind the flight attendant’s death, who would cooperate and help solve the case.(PNA)
