Seven-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella from Malaria, Caloocan City
was, at the height of New Year's eve revelry, enjoying watching
fireworks in front of their house. Unknown to her, an act of
recklessness would end her life just minutes later.
Ella was struck by a stray bullet to the back of her head and eventually died due to complications stemming from the injury.
Bullet trajectory
Bullet trajectory
On January 7, the PNP reconstructed the shooting, based on eyewitness accounts and other evidence.
According to the PNP Crime Laboratory, Ella was shot with a .45 caliber pistol from an estimated distance of 50 meters.
Also according to the PNP's autopsy report, the bullet entered the
left side of the top of Ella’s head, passing through the brain and
eventually lodging in the skin of her cheek, near the nose.
The report further indicated that the bullet hit Ella at an angle of 90 degrees, suggesting that it had been fired almost straight up into the air.
The report further indicated that the bullet hit Ella at an angle of 90 degrees, suggesting that it had been fired almost straight up into the air.
The person behind Ella’s death remains
unknown, and police are still in the thick of the investigation to
finding the gun and the person responsible for Ella’s death.
Tracing the bullet's source
Using a GPS-enabled camera and Google Maps, GMA News Online documented the scene of the crime to give readers a clearer idea of the general physical conditions in the area where Ella was shot.
The exact place where Ella was standing was at the corner of an alley leading out to the unnamed main road leading out of the compound:
Panoramic shot of the exact area in front of where Stephanie Nicole Ella was shot, taken on the morning of January 7, 2013. Note the policeman and canopies, which were set up for the wake being held in Ella's house in the alley behind the photographer. TJ Dimacali
When interviewed by investigators, Ella's dad said that she may have turned around and looked away from the road when she was shot —suggesting that the bullet may have come from anywhere within the 180-degree scope of the above photo.
On the other hand, had Ella not turned around and remained looking out on the road, the rows of houses flanking the alley behind her afforded a narrow path through which the bullet could have traveled:
Panoramic view of the area behind where Stephanie Nicole Ella was shot, taken on the morning of January 7, 2013. Ella's house is located a few meters down the alley shown in the middle of the photograph. TJ Dimacali
Plotting the PNP's prescribed 50-meter area around the exact geocoordinates of where Ella was shot, based on GPS readings from the site, yields the following map (note that the alley behind Ella is not visible due to the houses being too close together):
Panoramic shot of the exact area in front of where Stephanie Nicole Ella
was shot, taken on the morning of January 7, 2013. Note the policeman and canopies, which were set up for the wake being held in Ella's house in the alley behind the photographer. TJ Dimacali
When interviewed by investigators, Ella's dad said that she may have turned around and looked away from the road when she was shot —suggesting that the bullet may have come from anywhere within the 180-degree scope of the above photo.
On the other hand, had Ella not turned around and remained looking out on the road, the rows of houses flanking the alley behind her afforded a narrow path through which the bullet could have traveled:
Panoramic view of the area behind where Stephanie Nicole Ella was
shot, taken on the morning of January 7, 2013. Ella's house is located a
few meters down the alley shown in the middle of the photograph. TJ Dimacali Plotting the PNP's prescribed 50-meter area around the exact geocoordinates of where Ella was shot, based on GPS readings from the site, yields the following map (note that the alley behind Ella is not visible due to the houses being too close together):
Excluding areas where obstacles could have hampered the bullet's flight, the shooter could have been anywhere within the boundaries of the circle indicated in the above map.
Differing opinions on bullet's trajectory
However, the National Bureau of Investigation's (NBI's) Atty. Danny
Laluces believes that, contrary to PNP Crime Lab's initial
investigation, the shot may have come from a farther distance than 50
meters.
Meanwhile, forensic pathologist
Raquel Fortun had a differing opinion on the bullet’s trajectory when
she was interviewed on GMA News TV’s “News to Go” on January 3.
She said that, based on her knowledge of the case, the trajectory was forward and “roughly horizontal.”
“So the shot must have come from behind her at the same level,” Fortun said.
Fortun said technology plays a significant role in solving cases such
as Ella’s, citing automated systems abroad where police there can
immediately match spent shells or slugs with existing data.
Inadequate forensics training
However, Fortun has long been critical of how forensic investigations are conducted in the country.
“[P]ero hindi ako familiar sa Pilipinas, kung ano ba iyong ginagawa
nila. Pero kung ang obserbasyon natin ay nagugulo iyong ebidensya,
nako-contaminate, nahahalu-halo, nasisira ito, and therefore ano 'yung
tsansa mo na masolve 'yung killing kung ganiyan kapalpak ang iyong
imbestigasyon,” Fortun said.
She said that the Philippine police lack the skills and equipment to solve such cases and, as a result, they fail to collect evidence and police have to rely on eyewitness accounts for evidence.
So who shot Stephanie?
Four suspects were initially identified but were subsequently cleared by the police,
after it was found that the .45 pistol owned by one of the men, John
Agus, did not match the slug recovered from Nicole’s body.
However, police said these men will still be investigated and will undergo paraffin tests.
Aside from the young Ella, two others
were also reported to have been struck by stray bullets in Barangay 185
in Malaria, Caloocan where Ella lived. Three homes less than 100 meters
away from Ella’s were also hit by bullets.
Around 12 slugs have so far been recovered within the barangay.
According to police, the locations of where the stray bullets were
found will be used in their investigations to determine the position of
shooters during the New Year revelry.
The role of forensics
As of January 7 afternoon, the PNP Crime Lab's Firearms Identification
Division was still conducting tests on physical evidence gathered within
Malaria, Caloocan City. The office has yet to release the full results
of the investigation, officials said.
In a phone
interview with GMA News Online, Police Chief Inspector Armin Guerrero
of PNP Crime Lab discussed their division's standard operating procedure
in criminal investigations.
1) Secure the crime scene : First,
local police or first responders should secure the crime scene. They do
so by putting up police line within the vicinity, marking pertinent
locations of the crime committed.
2) Call SOCO: Local
police will then ask the help of Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO)
from their District, Provincial or Regional Offices to collect physical
evidence.
3) Evidence examination and cross-reference: Once
the pieces of evidence are collected, SOCO will then transfer them to
specific divisions of the PNP Crime Lab for inspection and examination.
The PNP Crime Lab has seven divisions that can handle the various items of evidence:
Firearms Identification Division --
In this division, officers conduct ballistics examination on slugs to
identify the owner of the firearm used in a crime. Paraffin tests were
also conducted on suspects to know who used the firearm.
"Masasabi sa itsura pa lang ng bala kung anong kalibre ito, kung galing ba sa handgun o isang long firearm. tapos importante yung marka sa gilid ng bala na pwedeng ikumpara kung mayroong reference na baril. halimbawa may nakuhang suspek tapos mayroon armas and then puwedeng ikumpara," Dr. Raquel Fortun said.
Medico-legal --
Officials conduct autopsy on cadavers in this division. They also have
Serology section for blood stain pattern analyses, and examinations of
other bodily fluids and traces found in the crime scene. They also
conduct DNA testing here.
Polygraph -- This is for lie detection tests of suspects, as well as witnesses.
Questioned Documents -- In this division, investigators look for alterations and forgery of documents.
Chemistry -- This section detects and determine drugs and other chemicals used in a crime.
Fingerprints -- In this section, investigators match the fingerprints with that of the suspects'.
Photo -- Investigators also use photo captured in the crime scene to provide a wholestic analysis of the crime scene.
Guerrero said that depending on the quality and amount of evidence
gathered, the PNP Crime Lab conducts investigation from one day up to
weeks or months.
"Mayroon kaming mga local- at
foreign-trained officers dito. 'Yung iba sa US at Europe nag-train para
sa competence nila," Guerrero told GMA News Online.
In the PNP Central Office at Camp Crame, the Crime Lab employs at least 60 personnel, said Guerrero.
However, for other district, provincial and regional SOCO units, the number and their division are not the same.
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