Dacera family refuses to accept flight attendant died of natural causes

The family of Christine Dacera rejected the official autopsy of the Philippine National Police which showed that the flight attendant died of a “ruptured aortic aneurysm.”

Jose Ledda III, a lawyer of the Daceras, told reporters yesterday that the family continues to believe that a crime was committed in connection with her death. Christine, 23, was found dead on New Year’s Day in a room inside Makati’s City Garden Grand Hotel.

Read: Philippine Airlines flight attendant found dead in Makati hotel

“We always base our moves and actions on the documents that we have, but it doesn’t mean that the family counsel will not exhaust possible remedies to seek justice for the family,” Ledda said.

“The accusation of the family is that there is a crime,” the lawyer added.

The police autopsy, dated Jan. 11 but released to the media just yesterday, refuted the Dacera family’s belief that Christine was raped by her companions in the hotel.

“Based on the available information on hand, the manner of death is classified as natural death,” the autopsy said.

It added that while aneurysms are more common among senior citizens, younger persons can experience them. Christine’s aneurysm was caused by an increase in blood pressure, and the crime lab added that her illness started “a long time ago.”

Read: ‘There Was A Crime’: Christine Dacera’s mom insists daughter was raped

“That dilatation is a chronic condition and was present long before she died. If she did not die that fateful night, she will still die in any scenario that presents an activity that will increase her blood pressure strong enough to tear that aneurysm,” the autopsy said.

The autopsy added that Christine’s heart weighed 500 grams, which is 200 grams heavier than normal.

“This is a finding that supports Dacera’s apparently undiagnosed hypertension,” it added.

The Makati police initially said that there was foul play involved in Christine’s death and that there was even semen found in her genitals. However, the autopsy said that “homicide is ruled out in Dacera’s case because the aortic aneurysm is considered a medical condition. Rape and/or drug overdose will not result to the development of aneurysms.”

Read: 11 suspects charged with provisional rape, homicide in Christine Dacera’s death

The 11 suspects, many of whom were Christine’s friends, have repeatedly said that the Dacera family’s accusations were false. One of them even said that it was impossible for him to rape the victim because he is gay.