DOJ to charge racer Enzo Pastor’s wife for his death

MANILA, Philippines – The justice department has recommended that charges be filed against the wife of international racing champ Enzo Pastor for his death, it was announced Thursday, February 26.

Dalia Guerrero Pastor will be facing parricide charges for allegedly conniving with businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman to kill Enzo on June 12, 2014. De Guzman, on the other hand, will be charged for murder.

The resolution on the case, issued by Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Villanueva, was dated February 13 but was publicized only on Thursday.

The Department of Justice earlier indicted for murder the alleged gunman, Police Officer Edgar Angel, who first admitted to the killing but later recanted what he claimed was a script that cops prepared for him.

In his original testimony, Angel identified Dalia and De Guzman as masterminds in Pastor’s murder.

While there is no evidence that Dalia and De Guzman were directly involved in the murder, prosecutor Villanueva said, “There is interlocking circumstantial evidence that would point to their complicity in the commission of the crime.” 

The resolution cited the affidavit of Chona Domen, the househelp of the Pastors, who detailed what she knew about the affair that the suspects were having. 

“This is motivation enough for them to hatch the plan to kill him (Enzo)…. This is strengthened by PO2 Angel’s statement that the reason why he was contracted to kill Enzo was because the latter constantly beats his wife and that respondent Sandy [de Guzman] wants to relieve her of this burden,” the resolution read.

The DOJ said Dalia apparently supplied the gunman with information on her husband’s whereabouts, while De Guzman gave the hired cop the means to carry out the plan. 

The investigators cited how De Guzman told Angel to also kill Enzo’s father, Tomas Pastor, if he would happen to be with him.

Enzo was killed at the corner of Congressional and Visayas avenues in Quezon City while on his way to a competition in Pampanga. He sustained gunshot wounds in the head, neck, and arms.

“We take note of the fact that Tomas and his wife were at the house of Enzo and respondent Dalia on that fateful night, and that he (Tomas) had expressed his desire to accomppany him to Clark Pampanga. Who could have supplied that vital information, if not respondent Dahlia who was with them at that time?” the resolution said.

The justice department also interpreted as “indicative of guilt” Dalia’s refusal to appear during the preliminary investigation of the case. She didn’t submit a counter-affidavit either.

“All the foregoing circumstances, to our mind, lead to a reasonable inference of respondents Sandy and Dalia’s probable participation in the crimes of murder and parricide, respectively,” the resolution said.

De Guzman, on the other hand, said in his counter-affidavit that the authorities should not have found probable cause to charge him for the crime based solely on the confession of Angel which was later on retracted. – Rappler.com