Reuters AlertNet Lite - Filipino charged for murder of Peace Corps volunteer

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Filipino charged for murder of Peace Corps volunteer

30 Apr 2007 05:58:52 GMT
Source: Reuters

MANILA, April 30 (Reuters) - Police in the northern Philippines have filed preliminary murder charges against a woodcarver who confessed he killed a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer after mistaking her for someone else, officials said on Monday.

Pedro Ganir, police chief in Ifugao province, said the complaint was sent to the prosecutor's office on Sunday, before the suspect was brought to Manila to undergo further tests and questioning.

The provincial prosecution office has a few days to evaluate the complaint before filing formal charges in local courts.

"We decided to file murder charges because of the presence of the element of intent to kill," Ganir told reporters, adding the suspect's sworn statement admitting the crime was the basis for the complaint.

In his statement, woodcarver Juan Duntugan said he killed U.S. Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell after mistaking her for a neighbour with whom he has a feud.

Duntugan denied robbing or molesting the American woman, a former freelance journalist who went missing on April 8 while trekking on Banaue, a mountain town famed for its thousand-old rice terraces, about 160 miles (260 km) north of Manila.

On April 18, soldiers found Campbell's body in a shallow grave near a creek in a village called Battad, where Duntugan worked as a woodcarver.

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Last updated:Mon Apr 30 05:59:38 2007