WITH a trial date on the Ellah Joy Pique kidnap-murder case still under deliberation, authorities moved to keep one of the suspects from fleeing Cebu.<\/p>\n
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) said they will file a hold departure order with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Bella Ruby Santos, one of the suspects in the case.<\/p>\n
This after the Regional Trial Court (RTC) denied their motion for special raffle on the case.<\/p>\n
The group said it filed the motion for fear that Santos\u00a0 will leave the country to escape arrest.<\/p>\n
CIDG-7 lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna said they received information that Bella Ruby Santos is selling her properties in Naga City and is nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n
But Regional Trial Court Cebu City Executive Judge Silvestre Maamo said he didn’t see any reason to immediately raffle the case.<\/p>\n
Kidnap with homicide charges against Santos and Griffiths were already filed at the Criminal Records Section at 10 a.m. yesterday.<\/p>\n
Because the case did not make it to the cutoff period, it will be raffled on Monday next week.<\/p>\n
Dela Cerna said he will go to the Bureau of Immigration today to get a hold departure order for Santos.<\/p>\n
Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths, who is under house arrest in Great Britian, were tagged suspects in the case.<\/p>\n
Santos’ lawyer Ramses Villagonzalo earlier assured that his client won’t leave Cebu and will face the charges against her.<\/p>\n
Since the victim is a minor, the case will be raffled to a family court judge.\u00a0 In Cebu City, four judges are assigned to handle cases that involves minors and families.<\/p>\n
These are Regional Trial Court Judge Ester Veloso, Manuel Patalinghug, Olegario Sarmiento and Bienvinido Saniel.<\/p>\n
Santos and Griffiths were indicted by the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors in relation to the kidnap-slay of 6-year-old Ellah Joy Pique last Feb. 8.<\/p>\n
Villagonzalo complained about the failure of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office to furnish them a copy of the resolution on their motion for reconsideration.<\/p>\n
He and other lawyers will file a petition for review to the Department of Justice (DOJ).<\/p>\n
He questioned the findings of the three-man panel of prosecutors who found probable cause against his clients.<\/p>\n
Villagonzalo cited inconsistencies in the the testimonies of the witnesses who accused his clients of committing the crime.<\/p>\n
Cebu Daily 黑料社 tried but failed to reach Santos through the phone yesterday. She also deactivated her Facebook account. \/Ador Vincent Mayol and Carine M. Asutilla<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WITH a trial date on the Ellah Joy Pique kidnap-murder case still under deliberation, authorities moved to keep one of the suspects from fleeing Cebu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1242,1227],"tags":[89],"byline":[],"source":[206068],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n