HOMICIDE charges have been filed against Nel Spencer Tiu, boyfriend of the late Ashley Abad, before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office on Saturday morning, Feb. 23.
Tiu’s lawyer Orlando Salatandre welcomed the complaint, as it would give his client the chance to answer the allegations in court.
Salatandre told SunStar Cebu the Abad family may have not accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration that Ashley, not Tiu, was responsible for her own death.
“It’s (Abad family) their lookout. The President has given them the information they needed to know, but they refused to accept it. It was their call to proceed with the case or not,” he said.
Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, Police Regional Office 7 director, earlier told the 19-year-old girl’s family that the case against Tiu was weak.
Sinas said most of the evidence that the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) gathered were circumstantial and did not include witnesses.
“The family wanted to file the homicide charge, although we already informed them it would only weaken the case. But so be it, we will still file the case. We must close our investigation. Anyway, we are now targeting those identified as suppliers of party drugs,” Sinas said in a press conference.
The police official admitted that he didn’t know who provided the information to the President. Sinas clarified that they also filed the charges against Tiu to appease the Abad family.
“We were done with the case. But to prevent the family from accusing us of hocus-pocus, we filed a case, upon the consensus. That way, they can’t say that we sabotaged the case because of what the President recently said about the case. The case was ready even before that. We were just finalizing it. Now, the family only wants to charge Tiu with homicide and not the others,” Sinas said in Cebuano.
But Benny Abad, spokesman for the Abad family and Ashley’s uncle, said they were thinking of filing criminal charges against Ashley and Tiu’s companions at the open-air concern at the Cebu Business Park last Jan. 19.
Benny said Ashley’s father, Jose Alfonso “Joal” Abad, was the main complainant.
The family issued a statement after the case was filed.
“While there are still no words to describe our pain, but today is no longer about us. Today marks the beginning of our fight for justice not only for Ashley’s death, but also for the youth who may fall prey to drugs, betrayal and deception,” read the family statement.
“As the wheels of justice start to grind, we express faith in our justice system that Nel Spencer Tiu and his cohorts will be made accountable for their actions and dare them not to hide behind the phony skirt of wealth and influence,” the family statement added.
“Nel Spencer Tiu, we say this to you. We will bravely stay and fight and guard the legal process ferociously, even with our lives, until justice is truly served,” the statement further said.
“At this point, we thank those who have given us their love and support at this difficult time. Please continue to stand in solidarity with us as we move forward in this fight for justice,” the statement said. (from FMD of Superbalita Cebu, JKV, EOB)