Police collected items from Dontogan’s house such as a hard wood piece that was possibly used to hit the Peace Corps volunteer until she died.

The suspect, whose family owns a house in Cruz, La Trinidad, Benguet, left Battad on April 9, according to Grace.

While police and practically all law enforcement agencies hunted down Dontogan from his possible lairs in the region sans any warrant of arrest (because no case had been filed against him), forensic evidences were being sifted in Manila.

Cordillera police meanwhile tried carrot-and-stick treatment for Dontogan. Cordillera police director Chief Supt. Raul Gonzales befriended Dontogan’s mother making her promise that she will turn in her son to clear his name if he had nothing to do with the crime. She promised to and told police her son was just around ready to give up.

Then the evidential blunder surfaced. Forensic evidences like blood samples in the supposed wood and jeans brought to Manila failed to prove Dontogan had a hand at all in the killing.

Cordillera investigators then vowed they will find more evidences to pin Dontogan down as if trying to save face.

Turn-around

But a miracle happened, saving the police from the effects of the blunder in the probe.

On April 27, Dontogan’s mother turned him in to the Ifugao police and the suspect admitted to unintentionally killing Campbell. His narration was that he had an altercation with a neighbor and lost his senses. When someone tapped him from behind on that fateful night, Dontogan thought it was the neighbor he had quarreled with and hit the stranger with a stone. The stranger turned out to be Campbell.

Dontogan, who even volunteered to place himself in police custody, led probers to the exact site where the killing happened to re-enact the unfortunate incident.

With the admission of Dontogan, Cordillera police said, the case is almost closed. Robbery and homicide charges were lodged against the suspect at the Ifugao Prosecutor’s office.

The Prosecutor’s office is just the first step though. What if at that level, the case is dismissed because of lack of evidence, though Dontogan admitted killing Campbell?

What if Dontogan latter on recants his story?

Can the evidences gathered now prove anything?

Julia Campbell’s disappearance was mind boggling. But even more mind-boggling is, will the quest for justice for her succeed? Contributed to Bulatlat

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