Demetriou dropped as lawyer in Nida Blanca murder case

The daughter of slain actress Nida Blanca has terminated the services of lawyer Harriet Demetriou in the legal proceedings of her mother's celebrated murder case. In a letter dated August 9 which was furnished mediamen, Blanca's daughter Kaye Torres said she had dropped Demetriou - a former Sandiganbayan justice - as her counsel in the legal proceedings. She said the attorney-client relationship between them was no longer suitable. In the same letter, Torres thanked the lawyer for helping in the progress of the five-year old murder case. Demetriou, in an interview with reporters, confirmed that Torres, daughter of Blanca, already terminated her services. She refused to provide other details. Earlier, Torres personally asked Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to exclude Elena dela Paz - a close aide of the deceased actress - from the list of the accused. She vouched for the innocence of Dela Paz, belying the statement of witness Rannie Francisco that he saw Dela Paz at the Atlanta Center building in San Juan on the same night - Nov. 6, 2001 - that Blanca was murdered. Torres also expressed dismay on the slow pace of the case. She said that up to now authorities have yet to arrest the murderer. Dela Paz, along with other suspects Mike Martinez and retired Gen. Galileo Kintanar, were charged as accomplices in connection with Blanca's murder. State prosecutors have earlier charged as mastermind Blanca's husband Rod Lawrence Strunk and Philip Medel, as the gunman. Strunk is currently in the US fighting off extradition to the Philippines. The murder case was filed before the Pasig City regional trial court.-GMANews.TV