Second Autopsy Points Suicide in the Case of the wife Ted Failon

This is an update of Ted Failon's case.

MANILA, Philippines—A forensic expert from the University of the Philippines who conducted a second autopsy on the body of broadcaster Ted Failon’s wife Tuesday said the gunshot wound on her head indicated a suicide.

Dr. Raquel Fortun told reporters at the Arlington Memorial Chapel in Quezon City that traces of soot on Trinidad “Trina” Etong’s scalp and inside the wound showed that it was a contact wound.

Etong was found shot in the head at the family home in Tierra Pura Subdivision in Quezon City on April 15; she died late on April 16 at the New Era General Hospital.

“The manner of death is the issue,” Fortun said. “It is a self-inflicted and intentional injury. Everything would be consistent with a suicide.”

But a ranking official of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said the direction of its inquiry into Etong’s death was “leaning toward parricide” before the case was transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation.

The source, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to discuss the case with reporters, cited the bullet’s trajectory and the purported discrepancies in the statements of Failon (Mario Failon Etong in real life) and housemaid Carlota Morbos on the discovery of Etong in a bathroom.

“Right to left trajectory, and the direction is downward,” the source said. “The exit wound is at least 2 centimeters lower than the entry wound.”