BREAKING NEWS
TRINA ETONG TESTS NEGATIVE FOR GUNPOWDER RESIDUE
Much has happened since last night's death of Trinidad "Trina" Etong, wife of ABS-CBN broadcaster Ted Failon and the emotional outburst of their daughter Kaye Failon who expressed her view over national TV that the manner by which the police conducted yesterday's arrest of the Failon household help and her aunt Pam may have hastened her mother's death.
Trina Etong's body was brought late last night from the New Era General Hospital to the Arlington Funeral Homes in Araneta Avenue, Quezon City where it was subjected to autopsy and paraffin test. Police now say she tested negative for gunpowder residue. It will be recalled that the Failon family did not allow Trina to undergo paraffin testing while she was in the hospital reportedly for fear that it would worsen her medical condition. Trina's body now lies in state at the Arlington Memorial Chapel located at the ground floor of the Arlington main building.
With this development, everyone in the Failon household have tested negatively for paraffin -- Ted Failon, the victim Trina Etong and their entire household. The mystery deepens.
Against this backdrop, GMA 7 reported that the Failon family is considering filing a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights in view of the perceived excessive use of force that the police applied on them yesterday. On the other hand, the Quezon City prosecutor's office is preparing the filing of obstruction of justice charges against Ted Failon, relatives of his deceased wife Trina and their household help primarily for their alleged failure to properly report the shooting incident to the police and "disturbing" the crime scene by cleaning up the evidence in the Failon bathroom and his Pajero.
Meanwhile, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Special Task Force Chief Arnel Dalumpines said that his unit has also begun its own parallel investigation of the shooting incident in compliance with a directive from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
More video updates, including a discussion of Ted Failon's affidavit regarding the incident, here from GMAnews.TV:
I'll try to bring you more details as they come in. Meanwhile, let's keep praying for all the personae in this real-life drama -- for the Failon family, for the police authorities ... for the nation that is still dazed and confused while trying to absorb the events of the past several days.
undefined
