SCIENCE OF CRIMINALISTICS

TOPIC:

Understanding the Scope and Limitations of Philippine Forensics through the

Criminal Case of Christine Silawan’s Murder

A Research Paper
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Republican College
Murphy, Quezon City

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements of Master of Science in Criminology with
Specialization in Criminology

Submitted to:

DR. MARIO ROSETE

By:

GLORIA MAE M. MARTINEZ

January 22, 2022

 INTRODUCTION

The field of forensics within the the broader field of criminalistics has a well-

established role that while constantly developing its methods, it establishes the backbone of

the entire field in itself in utilizing various scientific methods which are essential in the

understanding of how crimes and torts are done, while providing additional foundations to

the general knowledge with regard to evidence and other pertinent legal procedures in itself.

It is from this understanding that the distinction of forensic science has been established in

comparison to that of general science in itself. “Almost any science can be a forensic science

because almost any science can contribute to solving a crime or evaluating a civil harm. In

fact, with few exceptions, forensic sciences are no different in what they study than

traditional sciences. The only difference is that forensic scientists apply the methods and

techniques of established sciences to legal matters” (Siegel, 2020).

But while the role of forensics is vital to the understanding of crimes and torts, its

scope and limitations are mainly determined by the gathered knowledge, equipment, and

methods that any law enforcement agency can provide in the analyzing of criminal or civil

cases. This would then establish the significant impact of the said field when the said scope

and limitations vary per jurisdiction of law throughout the world. For instance, advanced

countries such as the United States, especially within well-developed states, would have

sufficient technology and equipment to resolve crimes and torts mainly since they have

developed, acquired, and established the methods and applications that are essential in

expanding the reach of forensics in the context of case analysis. However, the same cannot

be mentioned when it comes to underdeveloped countries, which may be limited only to the
methods that are either already well-known or are within their capacity in part of being with

any law enforcement agency within their jurisdiction. As such, the variation of the

developments and methods within the context of forensics would result in the variation of

the impact of its role in the field of criminalistics and in a more general sense, the study of

criminology in itself.

It is then within this study, that the objective is to understand the impact of forensics

within the context of the Philippines in terms of resolving a notable criminal case. In

particular, the case that will be utilized in the study involves the murder of Christine Silawan.

Throughout the study, the focus will be firstly on the general application of forensics in

determining pertinent evidence within the case, as well as determining the scope and

limitations of forensics in general resolution of this criminal case. As such, the focus of this

study is to establish the role of forensics in the context of resolving crimes within the

Philippines, and its impact altogether by analyzing the scope it has covered and the

limitations that currently hamper the said field.

 MAIN STUDY

The Case of Christine Silawan and its Key Facts

Christine Lee Silawan, prior to her murder, was 16 years old, and was studying in

high school in Grade 9 at Maribago National High School, and alongside her studies, she

was serving as a church collector in the Sacred Heart Parish Church well. Prior to the events

of the incident, it was originally found that she was communicating with an unknown person

online, particularly through Facebook Messenger, with the intent of the said person being to

“court” her, albeit using a fake identity while communicating with her. Eventually, both of

them agreed to meet each other in an open lot in Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City. As

such, around that same day, she was last seen leaving the church premises after having

served in the 6 PM Sunday Mass before heading to the said lot where the crime happened.

As such, when Silawan met the person, she would later be murdered by that person

in the said lot. Details of the incident involved a very gruesome aftermath which involved

the mutiliation of her face and internal parts of her body, while having been also raped prior

to the murder due to her body being found naked from the waist down. The said reaction to

the killing would become a catalyst for the ongoing controversy regarding the reinstatement

of the death penalty in the Philippines which has significantly garnered attention within the

online community, mainly being seen as a point by those who support the punishment of

heinous crimes by death.

 As for the suspects of the crime, it was later found out that one of the suspects was a

person who has been only given the nickname “John” by the authorities so as to protect his

identity, whom the authorities arrested and held under DSWD custody for being a minor (17

years old) at the time of the crime. He would be found out to have contemplated the said

crime and as such, could have been charged in court at upon having discerned of the said

crime. Furthermore, reports indicated his former relationship with the victim Silawan and as

such, jealousy was seen as an motive for the said crime. Despite this, he was acquitted of the

said murder charges due to the illegal nature of his arrest and not necessarily due to lacking

evidence. However, another suspect, in the name of Renato Llenes admitted that he

committed the said crime but as such, has not plead guilty to the murder. It would be later

found out that the said crime was committed while Llenes was under the influence of drugs

during the said commission of the crime. While the proceedings were taking place however,

he was found dead in jail on May 24, 2020, with the alleged cause being suicide.

The Role of Forensics in the Case of Christine Silawan

Introduction to the Key Points Applied by Forensics

In the studying of this case, it is important to note the key aspects of forensics that

were applied by the authorities when it comes down to determining the perpetrator of the

said crime, as well as the methods used to kill and later, mutilate Christine Silawan. In

particular, the following fields would involve forensic chemistry, forensic anthropometry,

psychology, analysis of documents, particulary that of video footage, and ultimately,

integrating such key points from each field applied in the study to understand the scope and

limitations of forensics in the case of Christine Silawan’s murder.

Forensic Material Chemistry

By definition, forensic chemistry covers a significant ground in the role of forensics

since its application involves multiple fields of science, particularly integrating both biology

and chemistry in the understanding of how crimes were committed, and other key

information as well. As such, within this field, forensic chemistry would involve an

integration of biology and chemistry which would be applied so as to analyze and understand

the methods used within a crime. However, in this case, the scope being focused on is the

role of forensic material chemistry, a specific field distinct from those of a medical nature.

The scope of forensic material chemistry in this case, albeit less of a component

compared to the medico-legal aspects of forensics, provides vital points to the methods used

in the mutilation of Silawan. However, while this in itself is essential, the methods

determined around at the point of investigation were not at all conclusive yet. In this case, it

was established that the PNP Crime Laboratory’s initial findings were deemed too

inconsistent to be even considered conclusive, which meant that any angles determined

beforehand were all part of the possibilities considered in the mutilation of Silawan.

Particularly, the angle of the suspect utilizing acid or a corrosive material was considered.

However, due to the lack of any burn marks on the face of the victim nor any corrosive

material, this angle remains inconclusive in the first place as cited by then PNP

Superintendent Benjamin Lara (Erram and Lauro, 2019).

Medico-Legal Aspect of Forensics

While being a broader field in itself, the medico-legal aspect of forensics in this case

provides the most significant contributions when it comes to determining the key factors in

understanding the case in the first place. Such significance of this particular aspect of

forensics allows the authorities to settle down the facts that are pertinent to what has

haeppened in the case in the first place, as well as the important facts to determine who was

responsible for the crime as well as other crimes that have been committed in the process.

As such, this can be broken down into the key pieces.

Firstly, medico-legal forensics was particularly applied in determing the specific

outcome and scale of fatal injuries that occurred against Silawan. By detail, medical autopsy

reports establish the physical condition of Silawan’s body upon investigation. For one,

“experts found out that several internal organs of Silawan were missing. Superintendent

Benjamin Lara, MD, director of the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory in Central

Visayas, said Silawan’s tongue, trachea, and esophagus are missing” (Erram, 2019). The most

notable detail in this case, of course, was the mutilation of Silawan’s face, which according to

authorities, was done to prevent the body from being identified whatsoever.

During the midst of the investigation, three suspects were being pointed out as the

ones responsible for the death of Silawan. Investigation reports speculated at first, Jonas

Martel Bueno was one of those responsible for the said crime. The nature of the said crime

was similar to that of another crime that he was involved with alongside his brothers, Junry
and Jovy, particularly, the murder of Trinidad Batucan. According to news reports,

“Authorities in Cebu found the style of the killing of the two victims strikingly similar, with

faces skinned to the skull, which led to the “theory” of the police investigators that Bueno

could have been one of the suspects in the killing of Silawan, a Maribago High School

student who was reported missing after failing to return home from church where she served

as a collector last Sunday” (Colina IV, 2019). But while the similarity of the said results of

both crimes were established, the later portions of the investigation would point the suspect

to a different person, thereby clearing the theory in the first place.

It was then later confirmed by the authorities that it was neither “John” nor Bueno

who was responsible for the murder of Silawan, but it was Renato Llenes who was the

primary suspect for the said crime. After he made his extra-judicial confession to the said

crime, authorities would later confirm his criminal liability for the said incident, establishing

it upon forensic analysis by matching the DNA samples found within the scissors, which

was confirmed to be the murder weapon. “The DNA exam conducted by the PNP crime lab

on the pair of scissors reveals positive findings of presence of DNA of both victim Christine

Lee Silawan and suspect Renato Llenes in the said scissors” (Caliwan, 2019). Furthermore,

confirmation that the victim was raped before her death were also confirmed in this case

upon forensic analysis of any male body fluids within the body of Silawan, which were

inferred upon seeing her body naked from the waste down. Ultimately, while this appears to

be conclusive on its own, the judicial decision that would establish the validity of such

forensic evidence would not take place upon the reported death of Llenes.

Cross-Analyzing Technological Records

 Another vital angle in this case was the confirmation of the technologically-based

evidence that was obtained throughout the investigation. “As digital devices such as

computers, cell phones, and GPS devices become ubiquitous, analysis of digital evidence is

becoming increasingly important to the investigation and prosecution of many types of

crimes as it can reveal information about crimes committed, movement of suspects, and

criminal associates” (IACP, 2017). Within this case, it would be completely vital as records of

the evidence would confirm the crime and prior activities before the murder of Christine

Silawan took place.

From here, the CCTV footage that was obtained and analyzed by the NBI would

point out that the last person to be seen with Silawan was a minor only to be identified as

“John”. To put into detail, the following CCTV footages would record the said events as

follows on the accounts of Francis Senora, an NBI agent, “Señora said that the footage

became the evidence that proved that the 17-year-old was the last person Silawan saw before

her death and the last area they were last seen, in the subdivision, was less than a kilometer

from the empty lot where she was found half-naked with her face skinned” (Letigio, 2019).

Because of this footage, “John” would then be considered as one of the primary suspects for

this case, with the said CCTV records confirming his presence prior to the crime, much to

the opinion of those who sought to defend “John” legally. But while the CCTV records

provide the said data, the messages found on his phone, while having communicated with

Silawan, establishes that a different name was used contrary to what was found on Silawan’s

phone during her messages, which meant that his criminal liability would still remain in

doubt at this point.

 On the other hand, however, Llenes, upon his self-confession, would later confirm

that he was the one who was communicating with Silawan prior to her death. Based on the

said messages, “Llenes said he was obsessed with the victim whom he met through

Facebook, where he used a dummy account with a fake name called CJ Diaz to hide his

identity” (Alipon, 2019). Ultimately, this would then defeat the said records found on the

Messenger account of “John”, who would later be cleared of any involvement to the said

incident in the first place, though mainly due to procedural reasons.

Behavioral Forensics

The field of behavioral forensics, in itself is unique as it focuses more on the

psychological aspect of the victims, suspects, and those involved during the said criminal

proceedings. As such, instead of understanding just the physical and material factors in

analyzing crime, observations of people’s behavior would be crucial in this field.

In the process, “John”, being a minor, would be reported to have discernment upon

the said crime. “The Lapu-Lapu CSWDO said the suspect, a 17-year-old from Sitio Looc,

Barangay Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City, got a score of 3.78 in the level

of moral development tool” (Rossell, 2019). This essentially means that through the

quantitative methods on understanding the psychology of one of the suspects, then it would

be established that the said minor is capable of discerning their own actions, and as such,

would be established to have deliberately committed the said crime, and as such, can be

charged in court of a crime in the process.

 On the other hand, while psychology is a factor to behavioral forensics,

understanding the backgrounds of the suspects are also crucial in this sense. Although,

applying this won’t be necessarily crucial to any developments regarding the investigation but

instead provide the background necessary in this case. Even with this, however, the motives

remain unconclusive. In the case of Jonas Martel Bueno and his brothers, the nature of the

said killing and a similar killing they committed could have raised the speculation if they were

members of a cult (Colina IV, 2019). On the other hand, Llenes was motivated mainly by

both his influence of drugs and having been influenced by the “Momo Challenge”, a

phenomenon that was common on the Internet at the time, where “Momo” challenges

people to commit violent acts, which could have led to the brutal nature of the said killings.

Even then, these backgrounds are all in all inconclusive by nature and as such is limited to

providing context to the investigation.

The Scope & Limitation of Forensics in this Case

It’s clear that the scope of forensics in this case allowed the investigation to point out

the necessary facts and backgrounds to be able to build the foundations of the case

altogether. Identifying the nature of the said killing would be sufficient to build the scale of

the said crime. Furthermore, key evidence, especially both in digital and medical evidence

would prove valuable in the pinning down of the suspect after initial developments having

been reliant on theories in the first place with the range of possible suspects being varied

based on the diverse and sometimes, conflicting evidences that the authorities received in

this case.
 However, while the field of digital and medical forensics proved to be a crucial scope

in the role of forensics to this investigation, it would be mainly limited as since it was

mentioned beforehand, the said developments of the investigation were inconclusive at first.

Psychological data and behavioral records, all in all, were only limited to providing context

for this case while material (chemistry-based) data did not supplement effectively as to the

nature of killing in the process. Even the digital and medical evidence led to the pinpointing

of suspects who were not necessarily involved in the said crime in the first place, and

ultimately, while forensics provided its role in the investigation, it does not heavily influence

the fact that no judicial outcome will arrive from the said incident since it was catalyzed by

factors beyond the control of forensics, especially with the death of Llenes.
 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

All in all, the impact of forensics, while crucial to the developments of a criminal

investigation would ultimately depend on how the data would be utilized in establishing and

later on, confirming the leads for any crime being investigated. Depending on each case, not

all fields would be considered crucial to the development of the case and while most of it

would have a certain role in one way or another, the scale of involvement of each field of

forensics varies althroughout.

Even more noteworthy is that it does not necessarily provide a concrete solution to

the investigation of a crime. In fact, it can even be more confusing as one key evidence,

being significantly material, would at some point, conflict with another vital evidence being

utilized in the study. Because of this, investigations utilizing forensics take significant time to

be processed and as such, will only be validated or invalidated upon in the most common of

cases, the decision of the courts having the jurisdiction on the case or in another case, the

compliance to criminal procedures with regard to the validity of the evidence. Simply put,

the courts are the ones bound to consolidate the data and evidence gathered upon by

forensics within the general field of investigation, and from here on, they can apply this as an

integral portion to their decisions. In this case, however, this would unfortunately take place

as the death of Llenes would prevent any resemblance of justice taking place as what has

been gathered cannot be consolidated anymore as the case in itself has been rendered closed

altogether.
 From here on, this study seeks to recommend a more intricate development within

the field of forensics beyond the medico-legal aspects of such and even the field of digital

forensics. For instance, it should ultimately look into the other fields of science which focus

more on the behavioral activity of people. This can be done by applying key and present

theories within psychology to ensure that the said field becomes applicable in determining

the liability of the criminal beyond what is just concretely provided via medical data. It is

through these developments where forensics can improve not just on the equipment that it

can gather, but also within the analysis applied to understand how and why crimes are done

in the first place.

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