Sunday, February 24, 2008 Lack of injuries supports theory he knew culprits
THE interior designer who was found hogtied inside his bathroom died from suffocation.
In fact, according to PNP Crime Laboratory Director Nestor Sator, it is possible that the perpetrators had no intention of killing him.
Still, once authorities establish what items are missing from the victim’s room, any suspects will be charged with robbery with homicide, he added.
A team from the Scene of the Crime Operation (Soco) is examining fingerprints gathered from the crime scene, while Mandaue City police are still looking for additional information that would lead them to the perpetrators.
Lawyer Danilo Deen, the victim’s only immediate family here, hopes the police will solve the murder as soon as possible.
He said his hard-working nephew was just trying to make a living.
Accident?
When asked how his attackers killed 50-year-old Alexander “Sandy” Deen, Sator said they must have “covered his mouth and his nose with a polo shirt and undershirt, while they tied his hands.”
Sator, who examined the body, said there were no signs that Alexander had been stabbed or struck.
Since there were no signs of forced entry and the caretaker noticed three men with the victim before he died, Sator said that the victim must have known the perpetrators.
It is possible, he said, that Alexander’s companions robbed him at dawn and tied his hands to restrain him.
Soco team leader Joseph Bucayan, who also examined the scene, said they took the victim’s fingerprints so they can distinguish these from other fingerprints gathered at the scene.
Prints
His team collected a Red Horse bottle, drinking glass, cigarette packs and some items in the trash can, hoping to find fingerprints on them.
Bucayan also discovered an electric sander, whose cord was cut. The wire was used to tie up the victim. They also examined fingerprints on the sander.
Investigators also collected a note slid under the door, written by the victim’s workers, which stated that they already completed the job.
Caretaker Michael Garciano had confirmed to Bucayan that the workers came to him looking for Alexander. But thinking that he was out, they just left a note under his door.
Subangdaku Police Station Chief Eddie Castañeda earlier said that Michael and his wife Belen did not know the three men who accompanied the victim.
The couple described the men in Sandy’s life as mostly from “dangerous places” like Ermita, Ponce compound, Pasil and Lorega, all in Cebu City.
Castañeda’s men are already looking for informants in these places.
Investigator SPO2 Alfredo Andales admitted that they still have no significant updates so far.
The victim’s uncle, Attorney Deen, recalled that his nephew put up a little business fixing and decorating homes and supplying decorative plants after retiring as a flight steward.
Five years ago, the victim also operated a small restaurant in Boracay Island, Deen said.
Alexander gained success, making clients from prominent families.
While a Sun.Star reporter covered the incident, a woman who owns a beach resort introduced herself as a close friend of the victim’s. She described him as a “refined gentleman” and requested the caretaker to watch over Sandy’s pick-up truck because she just lent it to him. She declined to reveal further details.
Deen said the victim was the son of his elder brother, the late attorney Nicolas Deen, who was married to Edith Villarmino. The couple had five boys and a girl.
Sandy’s mother is in Cotabato. His brothers are all over the country, while his sister has migrated to Australia. (OCP)
