“PERSON of Interest" is a term used by the US law enforcement when identifying someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of the crime. “Person of interest” is sometimes used as a euphemism for suspect and its careless use may encourage trials by media.
Unlike “suspect” and material witness, a person of interest has no legal definition but generally refers to someone law enforcement authorities would like to speak with or investigate further in connection with a crime. It may be used rather than calling the person a suspect when they don’t want their prime suspect to know they’re watching him closely.
Critics complain that the term has become a method for law enforcement officers to draw attention to individuals without formally accusing them. There is concern among critics that innocent people will be tainted after being labeled a person of interest.
Local authorities said Jonas Bueno, who was earlier tagged as a suspect in the killing of Christine Lee Silawan, is not really the main culprit of the gruesome killing of the 16-year-old girl, but a person of interest. Nobody pointed to Bueno as the perpetrator. He has no connection with Silawan family. They did not meet in person.
Bueno, in an interview with our counterparts in Davao City where he was arrested by virtue of a pending warrant of arrest for his alleged involvement in the killing of farmer Trinidad Batucan last January, denied he had a hand in the killing of Silawan.
Bueno, who is allegedly a member of a cult operating in the mountainous areas of Danao City, and his two brothers were tagged as suspects in the killing of Batucan. His brothers were killed by police in a follow-up operation, while he fled to Mindanao.
Although his statement was inconsistent because he claimed he had been in Davao City working as a construction worker since March 5. Silawan was reported missing last March 10 after serving as an alms collector during mass. Her mutilated body was found last Monday morning in a vacant lot in Sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Bankal, Lapu-Lapu City. Even the family of Silawan denied knowing Bueno. They also did not believe he had a hand in her brutal death.
What made Bueno a person of interest in the killing of Silawan had something to do with the manner in which the girl was killed. It was similar to the killing of Batucan. Silawan’s face was skinned to the bone. She suffered 30 stab wounds and her tongue and ear were slashed and removed. Batucan’s face was also skinned and some parts of his body were eaten by the suspects as part of a cult ritual.
The police theory that Bueno is a person of interest in Silawan’s killing is far-fetched and very impossible. It contradicts human belief. Will you consider a person a “person of interest’ if he was hundreds of kilometers away when the crime happened? Just because the style and manner of killer were similar, you’d automatically consider a person accused of an earlier crime a person of interest? It is unfair.
I don’t have any knowledge in criminal investigation but I am one of those “doubting Thomases” on the police claim that Bueno is a person of interest in Silawan’s murder. For me, he should not be named and classified as such. Layo ra ni sa tina-i sa manok. Klaroha intawon ninyo ni pag-imbestigar aron madakpan ang tinud-anay nga kriminal.