Final moments of air stewardess found dead in bathtub
CCTV stills show the final moments of Christine Dacera before she was allegedly gang-raped and killed in a hotel room in the Philippines.
It comes as one of the gang-rape suspects has maintained his innocence by insisting he and the other 10 men who were present on the night of her death were homosexual.
The flight attendant from General Santos City was found dead in a bathtub in Makati and rushed to the hospital on the morning of January 1.
CCTV stills perportedly show the final moments of Christine Dacera before she was allegedly gang-raped and killed in a hotel room in the Phillippines
It comes as one of the gang-rape suspects has maintained his innocence by insisting he and the other men who were present on the night of her death were gay
She is seen in one of the images holding a glass of wine as several men follow her to the room
Eleven men have been charged with gang rape and murder after flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera was found dead
PriorSPeaking to her death, Christine checked in at the hotel with three male friends for a New Year’s party where more men joined them.
The CCTV images show Dacera at the hotel without any shows on. She is seen in one of the images holding a glass of wine as several men follow her to the room.
Makati police chief Colonel Harold Depositar said the 23-year-old had injuries on her arms and legs with traces of sperm on her private parts, which police claim was rape and homicide.
He said: ‘Only three of them were Dacera’s friends.
‘The others were practically strangers to her, as they were only known to her three friends.’
Mr Depositar went on to say: ‘For sure, there was force inflicted on her body because we found contusions in her leg and knees, and there’s an abrasion in her thigh,’
He added that semen had been found ‘in multiple places in the hotel rooms’.
Suspect Gregorio de Guzman has insisted he is innocent, claiming that he and the other men charged are homosexual, according to a report in news.com.au.
Suspect Gregorio de Guzman, pictured above, has insisted he is innocent, claiming that he and the other men charged are all gay
She had checked in with colleagues to the four-star hotel in the financial city of Makati ready for a night of celebration
‘Every one of them was gay,’ Mr de Guzman told local media, according an English translation by ABS-CBN News.
‘My impression of her is she likes to hang out with us LGBT members. She’s comfortable with us. The entire time she was really comfortable with every one of us.
‘For me, I’ve never had sexual relations with a woman. I’ve never been aroused by a woman. Always a man. Many can testify to that.’
According to a report in CNN, three of the suspects, John Pascual Dela Serna III, Rommel Galido and John Paul Halili, were today released following the Makati City prosecutor’s office order.
The order noted that more evidence is needed to establish if the incident was a rape-slay.
Speaking to reporters upon release from prison, Halili said: ‘We did nothing wrong.’
Galido said that Dacera had been ‘like a sibling’ to him, adding ‘I love her very much. I hope her family will see things clearly.’
According to the news outlet, an initial autopsy report found that Dacera checked in the the City Garden Hotel at 11 am on December 31 with Galido, Dela Serna as well as two others, Louie De Lima and a Clark Rapinan.
The group began eating and drinking from 10pm and, according to Galido, Dacera drank strong alcoholic drinks including tequila and rum coke.
According to the report, Dacera was last seen alive at 6.23am on January 1 . At 12:25 pm., the hotel front desk received a call from a male person asking for help as Dacera was unconscious in the bathtub.
Dacera, 23, was celebrating New Year’s Eve in the lavish City Garden Hotel with friends last week
The flight attendant from General Santos City was found dead in a bathtub in Makati
The initial autopsy report of the cause of death was a ruptured aortic aneurysm, which could be due to very strenuous activity and probably a high level of alcohol toxicity.
However, Christine’s family as well as the Commission on Human Rights will be conducting independent autopsy examination.
Christine’s family are pushing for a second autopsy after claiming the first one was incomplete, ABS-CBN reported.
They claimed Christine ‘had already experienced intoxication and complained that her drinks appeared to have been spiked’ during the New Year’s celebrations.
The family’s lawyer, Brick Reyes reportedly said they believed the young woman was drugged and abused before her death.
Police said that one of the men, Rommel Daluro Galido, gave a statement claiming he woke up at around 10am and noticed the victim asleep in the bathtub. Galido covered her with a blanket before going back to sleep.
When Galido woke up several hours later, he found her still unconscious and worse, she had started to turn blue.
He raised the alarm and Dacera was given CPR, but failed to respond and was rushed to the Makati Medical Clinic where doctors could only confirm her death.
One of her colleagues, Rommel Galida, woke up at around 10am and spotted her in the bathtub
Police have provisionally charged 11 men with rape and homicide who were with Dacera and were in the adjacent hotel rooms
However, police were suspicious because the young woman had cuts and bruises on her body in particular around her thighs and knees and a more detailed examination found sperm in her body justifying a provisional rape charge against all 11 men who had been in the room with her.
They added that the provisional rape charge would only be filed against all 11 men once they have the autopsy results.
The victim’s mother said that she knew her daughter was going to the party with work colleagues and had allowed it because she trusted them.
She said: ‘I had no idea that she would be in any danger because she was only with other flight attendants. I don’t know why they had to do this to my child. Now all I have left is the fight for justice. They raped my child.’
The investigation continues.
Investigators are waiting for an autopsy but said the young woman’s body had bruises and cuts on her thighs and knees when they found her in the hotel (pictured)
