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Campbell partly to blame for own tragedy- DOJ


US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell whose decomposing body was found in a dry creek in a remote village in Banaue, Ifugao, Wednesday could partly be blamed for her own tragedy, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Thursday. At a press briefing, Gonzalez said that based on initial findings of police investigators, foul play seemed to have attended Campbell's death. "I'm quite sure there was foul play there. Why was she buried that way? It appears that she was buried in haste, in a shallow grave," he said. Gonzalez said Campbell might have become careless and could have courted trouble when she decided to take a walk in a remote mountain area all alone. "She was a little irresponsible. Why would she walk alone in this remote mountain? I think, [if she had a companion], it would not have happened. She was careless that she took a lonely walk in this deserted area. Maybe she was confident [of being familiar with the countryside]," he said. He said he has already alerted the National Bureau of Investigation to help the police in the technical aspects of the probe, but maintained the bureau will not step in unless its assistance is sought. "We will not interfere with the police investigation till necessary. I have alerted the NBI on it already. But logically the NBI should do this because we have the technical capability," Gonzalez said. Campbell, 40, of Fairfax, Virginia, supposedly went on a hike on April 8 in Batad village, where she had planned to view the scenic Banaue rice terraces. She was among the 126 US Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines. - GMANews.TV

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