Judge to try Bella, British BF for kidnap-slay of Ellah Joy

JUDGE Ester Veloso will try the kidnapping with homicide case against Bella Ruby Santos and her British boyfriend, Ian Charles Griffiths, whom investigating prosecutors indicted for the death of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique.
The case was raffled off to the sala of Veloso, a family court judge who presides over Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 6, yesterday afternoon.
Veloso, after evaluating the evidence presented by both parties, will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant against the couple.
As of press time late yesterday afternoon, no arrest warrant was issued against the couple yet.
The Cebu Provincial Police charged the couple last March 30 for allegedly snatching the young girl outside her school in Calajoan, Minglanilla in the afternoon of Feb. 8.
Before the raffling of the case yesterday, Judge Meinrado Paredes postponed yesterday morning the viewing of the USB flash drive of Santos.
Paredes, presiding judge of RTC Branch 13, said an information technology expert was not around so he had to call off the continuation of court viewing.
The USB viewing was in compliance with the court’s order granting the request of the police to conduct forensic examination on the items seized from Santos’ house last March 4.
When Paredes allowed the viewing of the USB last June 9, no photo of Ellah Joy was found in the device.
Among the things found was a folder that contains about a hundred 2×2 photos of young girls and boys who appear to be between six and 15 years old.
Santos insisted the photos do not belong to her but to her friend, a photographer.
As the case was finally assigned to Veloso, Judge Paredes said he had to stop the viewing of the USB and transfer the proceeding to the new presiding judge.
Paredes said, however, that before the USB and other seized items could be turned over to Veloso, the appropriate motion should be filed.
The defense counsels, in their pleading filed yesterday, told Judge Veloso that Santos intends to file a motion to defer the issuance of an arrest warrant against them, pending the resolution of their petition for review filed with the Justice Department.
As this developed, the Children’s Legal Bureau, through lawyers Joan Saniel-Amit, Noemi Abarientos and Jo-Ann Pabriaga, filed yesterday a motion for issuance of a hold-departure order against Santos before Judge Veloso.
Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane said he would announce today the three-member special panel of prosecutors who will lead the prosecution of the case.
Rameses Villagonzalo, one of the defense counsels, reiterated that Santos was not in hiding, saying she is still in Cebu.
Renante Pique, the victim’s father, said they welcomed the development in the case. He said he felt relieved because the wheels of justice have started to grind for his daughter, who would have turned seven last week.
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/07/12/judge-try-bella-british-bf-kidnap-slay-ellah-joy-166315

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