Randy Echanis autopsy shows torture signs, doctor says

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 21) — An autopsy on National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultant Randall "Randy" Echanis showed torture marks, a doctor said Friday.

Dr. Raquel Fortun from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine said contrary to the initial physical examination, Echanis was killed by a stab to the aorta, not a gunshot wound.

"[T]he implications seems to be there that, if literally torture means suffering was inflicted, in this sense, physical suffering," said Fortun in an online media briefing. Fortun conducted the autopsy.

However, Fortun said "torture" will not appear in the autopsy report since it is not a term in forensic pathology.

She identified lacerations on the head, which authorities may have mistaken for a gunshot wound, abrasions in the wrist, cuts on the jaw and multiple puncture wounds at the back.

"It looks like he sustained a lot of injuries first that were not intended to kill him outright," Fortun said.

Fortun said a blunt weapon and a bladed weapon such as a knife may have been used to stab him and hit his head, but added the autopsy is not yet final since she is still waiting for more laboratory results.

Fortun said there may also have been more than one assailant but she hoped to examine other evidences from the crime scene such as footprints on blood stains.

Echanis lawyer Rachel Pastores said the consultant earlier expressed security concerns since the suspension of peace talks with the government.

Echanis received threats and was no longer able to attend court hearings for a mass grave case, the lawyer shared. She said she is ready to help the Echanis family and she welcomed the investigations of the Commission on Human Rights and Justice department.