Probe starts into murder of actress

Prosecutors yesterday started preliminary investigations into the 10-month-old murder case of actress Nida Blanca, with her daughter Kaye Torres coming face to face with her mother's alleged killer, Philip Medel Jr.

The meeting between Torres, 39, and 51-year-old Medel took place inside the department of justice headquarters in Manila yesterday.

Lawyer Harriet Demetriou, a former judge and chairman of the commission on elections, represented Torres while attorney Salvador Panelo represented Medel.

Torres has asked the justice department to change to murder the charge filed against Blanca's husband, American Rod Lauren Strunk, who allegedly masterminded the killing last November.

"We found out that Blanca's first marriage to Kaye's father, Dr Arnulfo Torres, had not been annulled by the courts before she married Strunk," explained Demetriou.

The crime of murder carries a heavier punishment than that for killing the spouse.