Toxicology report vital in uncovering truth on Dacera case: NCRPO

MANILA – The results of a toxicology analysis on the body of flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera would help in determining the circumstances of her death, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said on Thursday.

In a radio interview, NCRPO chief, Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said they are looking into alcohol intoxication as among possible angles in the case.

“It could be a cause — heavy drinking coupled with illegal drugs. Puwedeng maging party drug kasi sa nakita namin (It can be due to party drug because based on what we saw), it is a rave party yung nangyari (that happened). Talagang magkakaroon ng aneurysm, yun ang sabi ng ibang mga doktor na kilala ko (There would really be an aneurysm). That would be one of the causes, heavy drinking coupled with drugs, especially party drugs. A rupture of the blood vessels is possible),” he added.

This came as initial autopsy findings showed that the victim died of “ruptured aortic aneurysm” which the victim’s family rejected, prompting them to seek another autopsy.

Danao also admitted that he was not convinced of the sufficiency of the pieces of evidence initially gathered by the Makati police on Dacera’s case.

He added that it is likely that the police officers were so eager to file the case that they have overlooked raw evidence.

“So nonetheless, that should not be a reason for us to stop the investigation because it is important to know what could have been the cause of her death,” he said.

On Wednesday night, the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office ordered the release of three arrested suspects and said further investigation is needed.

Police officers were also ordered to submit a DNA analysis report, toxicology/chemical analysis, and a histopathology examination report as additional pieces of evidence.

The hearing for the preliminary investigation of the case was set for Jan. 13.