The lawyer of Bree Jonson’s family insisted the artist could have not physically hung herself, disputing the claims of Julian Ongpin, the person of interest in the painter’s death.
According to Jesselie Suñga, Jonson’s family could not believe Bree killed herseld, noting the “inconsistencies” of Ongpin’s statements.
“Julian initially told the first responder that he found Bree hung inside the CR (comfort room) using a bra strap. Then come the news the other day, it became a cat chain,” she said.
“And if you look inside the CR, there’s no way Bree could have hung herself. “There was nothing there that you could hook something into which is strong enough to carry a person,” she said.
She said the ligature mark on Bree Jonson’s neck was “like a thin line.”
The lawyer also insisted “initial medicolegal report” of Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC) “showed signs of struggle.”
“There were bruises found in some other parts of Breanna’s body other than her neck,” her law firm Suñga Salandanan and Ampuan Law Offices said in a statement early on Thursday.
A copy of the ITRMC medicolegal report said Bree Jonson died of “asphyxiation due to strangulation injury, allegedly intentional.”
However, intentional injuries may still be self-inflicted.
Authorities have yet to draw a clear picture of what really transpired inside the Flotsam & Jetsam Artist Beach Hostel room in San Juan, La Union where Bree Jonson was found.
Julian Ongpin said he found artist Bree Jonson hanging in the bathroom, so he untied her and put her on the bed, according to Philippine National Police chief Guillermo Eleazar.
Bree Jonson case update: Artist did not commit suicide – lawyer
“That’s part of the reenactment, sinabi nakita niya eh nakabigti tapos tinanggal niya at nilagay doon sa bed,” Eleazar said in a press briefing.
(He said that he saw her hanging, then untied her and placed her on the bed.)
“That is his recollection and his statement,” Eleazar added.
Meanwhile, investigators found wounds on the arms and back of Julian Ongpin.
However, Ongpin, the son of billionaire Robert Ongpin, explained that he got his wounds when he forcibly opened the restroom door where Jonson was allegedly trapped.
The 29-year-old Ongpin told police that the nails from the broken door caused deep wounds on his arms and back.
Peralta confirmed that Jonson has markings on her neck. A cat chain was also found in their room.
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