MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Flight attendant Christine Dacera has died of natural causes, according to a forensic report submitted Wednesday by Makati police to the city`s prosecutor`s office. Christine Dacera`s death occurred in the early hours of New Year`s Day 2021, when Dacera was found unconscious in a bathtub at a hotel in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. Dacera was a flight attendant at PAL Express, based in Manila, Philippines. [1] [2] She was pronounced “dead on arrival” at around 12:25 p.m. (PHT) after being taken to Makati Medical Center. [3] Originally reported as a case of rape and murder, Dacera`s death certificate stated that the cause of death was an aortic aneurysm, a form of aortic dissection; However, the Dacera family believed Dacera had been raped and denied the forensic account. [4] [5] [6] [7] In an investigation, eleven men who had been with Dacera before their deaths were described by authorities as “persons of interest.” The rape and murder charges against the men were later dropped for lack of evidence,[8] as were all other charges against Dacera`s mother, lawyers for both sides, and the Philippine National Police Medical Examiner. [9] Dakera`s death attracted a lot of media attention due to suspicious circumstances that appeared to contradict the findings of the Philippine National Police. [10] Christine Dacera`s family denied the police forensic reports and demanded a DNA review of all alleged samples and organs to verify that they belonged to Christine. When asked in an interview on Balitanghali if there was anything in the forensic report, Dr. Raquel Fortun said: “Marami. 27.
In January 2021, the Philippine National Police issued a forensic report stating that Dacera died of natural causes, particularly aortic aneurysm, ruling out the murder; [27] [28] However, Dakera`s family disputed the findings. [29] [30] In response, Salvador Panelo rebuked the Dacera camp on January 29, saying, “You don`t go on a crusade for justice for a crime that didn`t even happen and you don`t punish innocent people along the way. It`s not true. My god! [31] A forensic pathologist said Thursday that the police forensic report into the death of flight attendant Christine Dacera still leaves many questions unanswered. Histopathology performed by forensic pathology revealed that Dacera died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm, meaning that the mode of his death is natural. This is consistent with the findings of the police autopsy report. On 23 April 2021, the Makati Prosecutor`s Office closed the rape and murder cases against the 11 defendants due to lack of evidence. [8] On February 7, 2022, all related cases were filed against the defendants, Sharon, Dakera`s mother, lawyers for both parties, and Philippine National Police doctor PMaj. Michael Nick Sarmiento was fired.
[9] [32] When asked what other details she was looking for in the forensic report, Fortun cited an example: “There is a bruise, a lesion with the back of a hand of one hand.” Lt. Col. Joseph Palmero, the forensic officer who examined the body, said the nature of death is ruled out as murder in Dacera`s case “because the aortic aneurysm is considered a medical condition.” He said the family had agreed to exhume the body of the deceased flight attendant to compare the DNA from her body to samples and organs tested by police. “Bruising involves bruising, bowbog so sugat `yan. However, doon its alleged bruise na` to, mayroon daw needle puncture mark so ano ibig sabihin nito? Tell me that the bleeding you saw here is an attempt to inject something or introduce an intravenous line? So it`s not clear to me. There are a lot of things I`m not sure about,” she added. (We have the results, but we still need to read about them. An aneurysm is a defect in the lining of arterial blood vessels that causes dilation, the report added.
Dacera`s death triggered not only demands for online justice, but also the conviction of what had been automatically assumed to be rape – based on the all-male composition of Dacera`s group – and the accusation of the victim. [41] [42] In response to netizens criticizing Dacera for the clothes she wore that night and for her excessive drinking,[19] on January 4, the hashtags #JusticeforChristineDacera, #StopVictimBlaming, #ProtectDrunkGirls, #MenAreTrash, and #DeathPenalty were popular on Twitter. [43] [44] [18] Several public figures and celebrities, including TV personality Bianca Gonzales, singer Kakie Pangilinan,[45] and activist Francis Baraan, apologized the next day for sharing inaccurate and misleading information about the case on Twitter on January 4. [b] [47] [48] “You can`t do that anymore, so I`m not sure what the purpose of this investigation is.