By Francis Allan L. Angelo
Businesswoman Claire Diergos was killed inside her house, according to the Sta. Barbara police in Iloilo.
Police Major Raymond Celoso, Sta. Barbara PNP chief, said they are 100 percent certain that the crime was committed inside Diergos’ house in Deca Homes, Pavia, Iloilo.
Celoso and investigators reached the conclusion after officers of the PNP Scene of the Crime Operations returned to Diergos’ house to conduct luminol test Thursday evening.
In forensic investigation, probers use luminol to detect trace amounts of blood at crime scenes, as it reacts with the iron in hemoglobin.
When luminol is sprayed evenly across an area, trace amounts of an activating oxidant make the luminol emit a blue glow that can be seen in a darkened room. The glow only lasts about 30 seconds but can be documented photographically.
The glow is stronger in areas receiving more spray; the intensity of the glow does not indicate the amount of blood or other activators present.
Based on the luminol test at Diergos’ house, blood spatters were found on the wall, floor, bed, and seat inside the victim’s room. The same was also detected in the dressing room, main comfort room including its door and wash basin.
Blood traces were also found in the wash area and inner portion of the washing machine.
Celoso described the blood spatters inside the victim’s room as “overwhelming.”
He added that they now consider Diergos’ house help as a suspect in the case.
“As of now, from person of interest ma-consider naton nga suspect ang timbang,” he added.
The house help, who refused to give a statement, began working for Diergos a day before she was presumably killed between Oct 24 and 25, 2021.
Earlier, police said they are looking into three possible motives behind Diergos’ killing – revenge, jealousy, and robbery.
Celoso declined to give details in the meantime, but he claimed that two or more suspects may have attacked Diergos.
Police also believe that the mastermind was not one of the killers, hinting at the probability that the assailants were hired.
The body of 36-year-old Diergos was found inside her sports utility vehicle (SUV) afternoon of Oct 26 in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.
She was wrapped in a comforter and some clothes and was laid on the second-row seat of her Mitsubishi Montero Sport (license plate WRQ-846).
She succumbed to two stab injuries and an incise or slash wound on her neck. She also suffered two “hesitation” or “tentative” stab wounds on her left hand, specifically on her palm, and two incise wounds on her right thumb.
Investigators also found scalp hematoma on the left side of her head and another hematoma in her right thigh.
Post-mortem examination results suggested that Diergos was killed between 11 p.m. Sunday (Oct 24) and 1 a.m. Monday (Oct 25). (With a report from Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo)
