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MANILA, Philippines – Former Court of Appeal Judge Normandie Pizarro, whose body was previously confirmed to be that found in Tarlac province last October, was shot in the back of the ear, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI ).
“He was shot in the back of the ear,” NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin said on the ABS-CBN news channel Wednesday when asked about the findings of the examination of Pizarro’s body.
LEE: Missing retired judge found dead in Tarlac, says NBI
In a text message to INQUIRER.net, Lavin said the bullet entrance was at the back of the victim’s right ear and the exit was at the top left of the head.
However, he said they did not yet know if the victim’s right hand and the fingers of his left hand were cut off first before he was shot, or if they did so after he was shot.
Lavin added that it was difficult for the NBI to examine the body because it was already deteriorating when they found it on October 30, seven days after the retired judge disappeared.
The NBI has yet to conclude the investigation, as one of the four people interested in the crime has been giving investigators conflicting statements.
According to Lavin, one of the persons of interest approached the office with his attorney but appears to be withholding some information.
“Two or three times he came to the NBI and has given us contradictory statements. Previous statements would not match the evidence we gathered on the ground, ”he said. As if he had gotten out of the car somewhere in Tarlac before it was found abandoned. This our agents found very doubtful. “
“He’s scared, he’s still scared, he seems hesitant (he’s scared, and he seems to hesitate),” he added.
According to Lavín, the investigators have established that said interested party, who is in his “old age”, was the last person who was with Pizarro on October 23, the day the retired judge disappeared.
“But we could not clearly establish when other people were with them. Siya ‘yung nakita naming sumakay ng car ni justice (He was the one who rode the judge’s car) after the judge left his hotel in Clark and then left.
“Around noon they were already somewhere in Tarlac and later in the afternoon of October 23 nawala na ‘yung signal (the signal was lost). In the late afternoon of October 23, the car was already found abandoned in San Simón, Pampanga, ”he said.
Lavín also said that there was no longer a signal in the place where the interested party claimed that he had gotten out of Pizarro’s vehicle.
According to the NBI official, Pizzaro and the person of interest met at a casino. Lavin said investigators received information that the person of interest owed the former judge less than P100,000, but they also received another tip that he owed the latter about P200,000.
He said investigators assume the amount is related to gambling.
As for the motive for the crime, Lavín said they are looking at it from all angles, including Pizarro’s previous work in the Court of Appeals or a personal angle, or a “mixture of both.”
“And we don’t rule out the possibility that two or three or all of the persons of interest conspired to kill the judge. That is a possibility, we do not rule it out ”, he also said.
JE
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