PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) crime investigators have expressed confidence that there was no foul play in the death of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral.
PNP Forensic Group officer-in-charge Col. Pierre Paul Carpio said scientific examinations, including a 3D scan, of the crime scene showed that Cabral could not have been pushed into the ravine along Kennon Road leading to Baguio City.
Carpio theorized that Cabral could have slid into the ravine to a point only 0.2 meters away from the base of the cliff and 16.9 meters in height from where she was last seen.
“In this case our medico legal confirms that the wound or injuries sustained are of the same age. At the same time, the correlation of our medico-legal, the autopsy findings, our field-scanning and our toxicology examination and even the height, the impact, what her position was before or even during the impact, provides confirmation that it was indeed a first fall injury that occurred to our cadaver or our victim, Usec. Maria Catalina Cabral,” Carpio told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Carpio also rejected suggestions that Cabral might have been pushed to her death, saying her body was found between 0.2 meters and 0.8 meters from the base of the ravine along Kennon Road.
“The correlation you can see is that the distance of our victim’s body or cadaver is around only 0.2 meters around the base of the ravine. So if someone pushes her, chances are she’ll go further away from there. So you can see here that her hand was scratched and even his back has scratches, So the probability that she slipped is high. at the same time, the distance between her body and the base of the ravine was only 0.2 to 0.8 meters away,” Carpio explained
“So it correlates, it confirms the possibility, the probability is very high that that’s what happened,” he added.
Carpio also said Cabral tested positive for the antidepressant drug “citalopram” as part of the ongoing investigations into her death, which authorities have largely deemed a case of suicide.
“Among antidepressant drugs, citalopram is actually one of the indications, which is when she experiences drowsiness, weakness. Aside from that drinking alcohol, the anti-psychiatric drugs or the citalopram she took also have the same side effects,” said Carpio.
“With the citalopram she is positive. So at least it’s indicative that she’s been taking an antidepressant drug and usually the update for things like this is that it’s been present in the urine for about three hours. Because the primary actions of anti-psychiatric or antidepressant drugs are that they calm the person down. It seems easier to have decision-making,” Carpio said.
