One year after US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell was senselessly murdered in Batad Banaue Ifugao north of the Philippines, the case finally laid to rest. This after the culprit, Juan Donald Duntugan, was found guilty of killing Ms. Campbell last April 08, 2007 while picture-taking in the famed Banaue Rice Terraces.
The local court also ordered Duntugan to pay the immediate family of the victim the amount of 39.67 million pesos in civil liabilities and damages. Judge Esther Pisoco Flor based her decision on the strong evidence presented by the prosecutors that there was treachery and use of strong force to commit the crime against the hapless victim.
The judge rejected the alibi of the accused that the incident was a mere momentary fault in behavior which resulted to spur-of-the-moment anger after he mistook Julia Campbell for his arch enemy who also lives in the area.
Upon hearing the verdict, the murderer expressed disbelief of his conviction and refused to answer questions from reporters who covered the promulgation. But the defense attorney promised to appeal the case in the higher court. The attorney argued that the lesser offense of homicide should’ve been handed down instead of murder.
But for the family of Julia Campbell who attended the hearing painstakingly, the verdict was just and fair. Finally justice prevailed and the memory of Julia Campbell lives on. She will be remembered as the typical example of a brave and big-hearted US Peace Corps Volunteer who shared her life with the less fortunate Filipino people.