German in Boracay rape-slay seeks bail

MANILA, Philippines - A German national tagged in the rape and murder of a local entertainer in Boracay last month sought bail, claiming he was "falsely and unjustly accused" of involvement in the crime. Online news site The News Today on Wednesday said Christian Wintterer deplored that he has already been portrayed by police and media as guilty. "I am not guilty. I am not a killer or a maniac," he said, adding the police needed a fall guy to present to save Boracay's image. But he said he will not leave the country until his name is cleared, adding, "the real killer is still out there." "They judged me already as guilty and portrayed me as a monster," added Wintterer, a computer programmer and Web site developer from Munich City in Germany. Wintterer faces rape and homicide complaint before the Aklan Provincial Prosecutors Office for the killing of 29-year-old Mylene de la Rosa, a resident of Libacao town in Aklan and a mother of five children. De la Rosa was found dead at dawn on March 7 along the beach in Yapak village. Her body bore signs of rape, with wounds mostly on the head and cigarette burns. Police arrested Wintterer after a Boracay resident, Bobby Alonzo, testified that he saw the victim and the Wintterer at the Cocomangas Bar and Disco the night before she was found dead. Alonzo said in his affidavit that he saw the suspect slapped the victim and overheard him saying: "I will kill you later." Fisherman Carlito Bernaldo, another witness, said in a separate affidavit that he saw Wintterer dragged a body of the woman and threw it toward the sea around 2:45 a.m. on March 7. Police also recovered a bloodstained shirt owned by Wintterer when they arrested him at his room at the Paradise Bay Resort hours after the victim's body was discovered. They also presented as evidence a medical certificate showing that the suspect had scratches and wounds on his face, arm and hand. Wintterer denied killing the victim but admitted that he found her remains. He also denied knowing her and being together in the bar. He claimed that he was with a commercial sex worker he identified only as "Shayra or Sharina" when they found the remains. His companion allegedly panicked and fled after they found the remains and after Wintterer examined the victim to see if she was still alive. The suspect said he also panicked and fled upon seeing the victim's blood on his shirt. "What would people think if they see a foreigner, intoxicated, with blood on his shirt next to a dead woman?" he said, adding he got the scratches and bruises when he fell on his motorcycle after he hurriedly left the place where he found De la Rosa's remains. Wintterer said he has already lost many of his customers after he was implicated in the crime. But Senior Insp. Auxilio Dador, BSTPO chief, said the testimonies of the witnesses and the evidence they have gathered point to Wintterer as the victim's killer. "Of course he will deny it. But the pieces of evidence show otherwise," he said. - GMANews.TV