Maguindanao massacre: Victim’s lungs reduced to ‘ground meat’ appearance

A witness testifying in the Maguindanao massacre trial on Thursday said one of the slain journalists suffered a gunshot wound that was so powerful it made his lungs look like “ground meat." Senior Inspector Dr. Felino Brunia Jr, a medico-legal expert from the Philippine National Police's Crime Laboratory, autopsied the body of Daniel Tiamzon, one of the 57 victims of the bloody Nov. 23, 2009 carnage blamed on the powerful Ampatuan clan. Testifying before the Quezon City Regional Trial Cout, Brunia said Tiamzon’s lungs were “reduced to the appearance of ground meat." He said the bullet, supposedly from a high-powered firearm, entered through Tiamzon’s chest and exited through his back. Tiamzon, who worked at UNTV, sustained gunshot wounds to his head, trunk, and right thigh, said Brunia. Tiamzon’s wife, Editha, and relatives of the other victims who were at the hearing wept as Brunia described the autopsy report. On Wednesday, Brunia said four other victims he autopsied died with shattered skulls due to the impact of the bullets that hit their heads. The skull of one victim, Tacurong City-based journalist Jose Duhay, was shattered when hit by the bullet, which made an exit wound about the size of a half bond paper, according to Brunia. On Thursday, Brunia said two more media workers, Jolito Evardo of UNTV and Ernesto Maravilla, sustained multiple gunshot wounds all over their bodies. He said one of the five bullets that hit Evardo entered his chest and exited in the upper portion of his back, damaging his thorax. Maravilla, on the other hand, sustained gunshot wounds in two areas of his body. More than 190 suspects have been implicated in the crime, including prominent members of the Ampatuan clan. — Mark D. Merueñas/KBK, GMA News