Police witness against Bella returns to stand

FOURTEEN days after she fainted, Ligaya Escultos took the witness stand again and testified in court last Monday.

She pointed at British national Ian Charles Griffiths as the one who threw a sack containing the body of Ellah Joy Pique down a cliff in Barili town, Cebu last year.

The eighth prosecution witness in the hearing on Bella Ruby Santos’ petition for bail was able to weather the questions by Santos’ lawyer, Julius Caesar Entise, during the cross-examination before the sala of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge 6 Ester Veloso.

Santos and Griffiths were charged with robbery with homicide in relation to the death of Ellah Joy, 6, last year.

Foreigner

In Monday’s hearing, Escultos said she was the passenger of the motorcycle driven by Ian Bansuan. They came from a birthday party and saw a Pajero parked by the side of the road near a cliff.

She later saw a foreigner, whom she later knew as Griffiths, take out a sack from the back of the vehicle, place this on top of a concrete barrier before pushing it off.

When asked by Entise how the back door of the vehicle was opened, Escultos said she could not recall.

The witness was also asked how she knew the vehicle was a Pajero. Escultos said the sports utility vehicle has a tire attached to its back door.

She was also asked by Entise what was the color of the water tank she saw in the area, but Escultos said she could not recall.

The lawyer asked why Escultos could not forget that there was a water tank, but could not remember its color.

Entise is hoping that his client, Santos, can post bail before the year ends.

Prosecution lawyer Hazan Bargamento said he is confident that the defense was not able to destroy Escultos’ positive identification of Griffiths.