Vhong Navarro was a victim of a setup

For us to further understand what really happened in the Vhong Navarro mauling incident, we need to understand what really happened on January 17, the day when Vhong claims that something happened between him and his accuser, Deniece Millet Cornejo.

Navarro, who claims to know Cornejo for about two years already, says that "something happened" between him and the 22 year old commercial model. That "something" is, according to Navarro, is oral sex. There was no sexual intercourse.

January 17 is very crucial because it dictates why January 22 happened in the first place. Some quarters believe that January 22 was actually setup to "punish Navarro for his indecent acts towards Cornejo last January 17. This explains why Deniece was texting Navarro to lure him again into her condo and thereafter, punish him for exploiting her weakness last January 17.

It is common knowledge that Navarro maintains a relationship with another girl while Cornejo and Cedric Lee had this thing going on together. There is a strong possibility that Cornejo regretted what had happened between her and Navarro and this infuriated Cedric Lee.

The thing is, if it was a setup, why did the camp of Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo told the public a separate story altogether?

Well, for one, Cedric Lee and the rest of his gang are liable for inflicting physical injuries against Navarro. They cannot use any justifying or mitigating circumstances there because even if something bad had happened on January 17, they cannot use the justifying circumstance of defense of honor or defense of a stranger because the window the law provides to justify a retaliatory action is just 24-hours after the occurrence of the illicit action.

Meaning, if you caught your wife cavorting with someone, you can kill them both and use the justifying circumstance of defense of honor. You will still be punished yet, the punishment may not be meted or at the very least, the punishment may be mitigated.

That January 22 have all the halmarks of a setup to punish Navarro for that "something" last January 17. It seems that Navarro misinterpreted what Deniece texted him.

It is likely that Deniece felt "violated" when Navarro had oral sex with her last January 17. In Navarro's sworn affidavit, he admitted that Deniece was drunk.

Some quarters say Deniece probably told her friends, including Cedric Lee about what happened and they conspired to punish Navarro come January 22.

Why do I say so?

If it was not a setup, how come that Cedric Lee had all his friends there at the time of the crime? He even had his UFC friend in tow. It clearly shows a setup.

Now, can Cedric Lee claims a defense alibi? No. He is definitely liable for serious physical injuries. Now, on the extortion charge, will it stick? The evidence shows that it will not. Now, if Vhong Navarro claims that the physical injuries were part of the extortion attempt, he will lose this case. If it was filed as a separate crime, then, he will win.

Okey.

So, what if Deniece Cornejo files an attempted rape charge against Navarro and use the January 22 incident, it would be a fight against her word and Navarro's. Usually, the court favors the testimony of the victim in rape cases. However, extreneous evidence will invalidate Cornejo's claim..

In the crime of rape, there must be sufficient evidence that the victim repeatedly defended herself from the advances of her attacker. It is not essential that there is sexual intercourse--it is enough to convict someone by forcing himself against his victim.

It is best that Cornejo backtracks and files a case of rape using the January 17 incident. There, she stands a good chance of winning her case against Navarro because Navarro admitted that something happened which is oral sex.

Oral sex is already penetration, according to the contemplation of the court. It is highly possible that illicit advantages were taken during the time when Deniece was drunk with wine. If Deniece will be able to prove that inspite of being drunk, she actually tried to resist, that would be enough to convict someone of a crime of rape against her.

The onyl thing here is this--someone told me that if Deniece really thought of filing a rape case, she should have done it at the time when the crime against her was committed. Wrong. The prescription usually is about six months. There is still ample time for Deniece to file something today.

Of course, the defense will probably counter that the sex was consentual given the fact that the two, the alleged victim and the attacker continued on texting. This fact is very weak if used as a defense.

It would be that the reason for that texting is that the victim wanted a revenge. And that revenge she got when her buddies mauled the hapless Navarro last January 22. This explains why both camps agreed on an amicable settlement when they went to the police. Deniece got her justice when Navarro was mauled.

So, okey.

Navarro will win his physical injuries charge against Cedric Lee and gang. If Deniece files attempted rape, she stands a good chance of winning, if she uses the January 17 incident, not the January 22 because extreneous evidence will show (CCTV) that indeed, it was a setup.

Why so?

The time which took the gang to come up in Deniece condo was so short a time. There was evidence of Deniece going out of the room alone shortly after Navarro's entry, proving Navarro's claim. Likewise, imagine eight people

Vhong Navarro mauling scandal: Who is telling the truth?

Victim unwittingly or wittingly?

When I heard Vhong Navarro's story, one movie flashed into my mind--the Jennifer Aniston directed movie, "Derailed" released in 2005(http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/derailed-2005). HBO (or is it Starworld) featured it.

The movie's plot is kinda similar with Vhong Navarro's account on the alleged mauling incident which involved him and several "thugs" who reportedly tried to extort money from him.

Try to read this and you'll be surprised how similar Navarro's story with those of Clive Owen who acted as Charles, a victim of extortion by the gang led by the beautiful Jennifer Aniston and Vincent Cassel. see this link.

Now, for us not to be fooled by all these media campaign being undertaken right now by both sides, just to elicit our sympathies, let's look at the facts.

Victims or extortionists?

Here are the unvarnished facts. Last January 17, Vhong Navarro met the beautiful Deniece Millet Cornejo, a 22 year old commercial model. They met at the model's condominium unit in Bonifacio Global City, this, inspite of the fact that Navarro had a girlfriend.

Navarro claims something happened but without sexual intercourse. Previous to this, Navarro did not explain how and when he first met Cornejo. Maybe they belonged to one circle, since Cornejo dabbled once in a while as an actress at ABS-CBN.

Anyway, Navarro claims that Cornejo texted him and asked him to come to her condo unit. Navarro went there and found Cornejo. What is established is that Cornejo asked Navarro to enter her condo unit. It is at this point that Navarro's and Cornejo, along with her friend, Cedric Lee's stories differ.

According to Navarro, Cornejo expressed surprised when he suddenly appeared right at her footsteps.  Navarro sensed something was wrong when Cornejo told him that she had'nt fixed or cleaned her unit yet, when, according to the actor, they previously exchanged texts and she knew he will be visiting her unit.

When Navarro entered and sat himself down, Cornejo reportedly left the unit. Unexpectedly, a man with a gun appeared and pointed it to him.

The man reportedly asked Navarro not to scream. He did not. Other people arrived. They put duck tape on Navarro. They mauled him and coerced him to admit that he tried to rape Cornejo.

Cedric Lee's story is different.

Lee said that he and sister, along with some of his friends, went to Cornejo's unit to ask her to go out. When they arrived, they saw the door slightly opened. Cedric entered and found a man on top of Deniece. Deniece was screaming and trying to break free from the man.

Thinking that his friend was being raped, Cedric pulled the man out which allowed Cornejo to run towards Cedric's sister. The sister pulled Deniece out of the unit while Cedric and another friend tried to effect a citizen's arrest upon the man.

They later found out that it was Navarro that they arrested. They tried to pacify Navarro but he resisted and tried to punch them. They punched back. They then saw a duck tape and used it on Navarro.

They arrived at the police station. This is the end of the story for which both camps gave us similar facts.

At the police station, both camps arrived at an amicable settlement. Deniece did not file an attempted rape case while Navarro refused to go to the hospital for a checkup. Both camps sign a letter of desistance and the incident was put in the blotter. Both camps asked that the police must not inform the media about the incident.

Now, here's the surprising facts...what happened afterwards?

Navarro reportedly went to a hospital and there, did checked in to cure his wounds he suffered from the mauling. The other party reportedly texted Navarro of his commitment to pay for all the damaged furniture inside Deniece's unit.

It should have ended there but no.

Last Friday, Navarro reported the incident to the media.

I commend Navarro's handlers for knowing the very first principle in crisis management---be the first to establish the facts. In a crisis situation, the very first to tell the public what happened usually gets the public's sympathy and 80% of the time, is viewed as a credible source.

What even made this thing highly favorable to Navarro was the fact that showbiz personalities all bonded together and expressed their sympathies and support behind the actor, even though most of them did not exactly know what really happened.

This solidified the "believability" factor of Navarro's story. Those expressions of support, contrived or not, were shown to the public to "herd" everyone to Navarro's side. This is being strengthened by ABS-CBN reporting that even the social media community is now solidly behind Navarro. They want us to believe that everything Navarro said was "gospel truth".

Well, try again.

What Cedric Lee told the public has more credibility than Navarro's, if you ask me. Navarro's testimony has full of holes.

For one, Navarro claims that these are all a setup, just to make him cough money. Okey, let's test his claim.

Navarro did not dispute the fact that he was turned over to the police. Alleged victim (Navarro) and alleged extortionists (Cornejo and Lee) inside a police station? Why did Navarro file a complaint of illegal detention and serious physical injuries or extortion against Lee the very moment they arrived at the police station? Don't tell me that Vhong Navarro had the presence of mind to even think that those cops were in cahoots with the alleged extortionists? Whoa!

The natural reaction of an alleged victim of a crime is to resist, and try to escape and go to the nearest police station. Navarro was'nt able to do that, because his alleged "captors" already gave him that chance when they turned him over to the police. Meaning, his "captors" had one thing in their minds--report a crime.

Meaning, there is a stronger than usual chance that Lee's narration of the facts is more truthful than Navarro's.

Lastly, if you're a victim of a crime, then, your very first instinct is to call for help. Navarro did not solicit the help of the condo guards. He likewise did not show resistance when he and the group left the condo for the police station. Meaning, there was a willingness on the part of Navarro to go with the group to the police station to settle something, and what is that something? There is a strong possibility that Navarro did tried to commit rape.

Oppps!!! Wait a minute...

There is likewise a strong possibility that there was no rape involved and that everything that happened was just a misunderstanding on the part of Lee's group. Let me explain.

Lee said he and his sister entered the condo unit when they heard shouts. Lee reportedly saw a man with his pants down pinning himself against Deniece.

This scene can be disputed by Navarro's party by saying that that was no rape but a presumption of rape. Deniece's "shouting" was just it, "shouting". Lee did not specify that Deniece was shouting for help. The defence may present this fact as Deniece shouting as part of pre-intercourse or part of love-making. There are instances where women "shout" in ecstacy or make noise during love making?

We will never know. There is a possibility that Navarro was not trying to rape Deniece and was just doing "preliminaries". Of course, Lee cannot be faulted when he acted violently because he did not know the true "score".

Vhong Navarro mauling---vendetta or extortion?

As a police beat reporter before, I was trained to spot a liar and someone who speaks the truth. It is essential in our profession that your eyes are trained to spot someone who tells you the truth or those who does not.

Anyway, I have some observations about this Vhong Navarro thing.

First, Mr. Navarro claims that the entire thing was a setup for extortion. My question is--if that is extortion, then, why did his captors maul him and even accommodated him to the police station?

The "normal" thing for extortionists is to keep their "captive" alive and well, until the money arrives. So, why was Vhong released? Who will get the money, Vhong? He was released right and at the police station pa? Are we being made to believe that this whole thing was an extortion when the very facts itself show that it was not an extortion thing.

Second, why was Mr. Navarro mauled? Police investigators have this term called "crime of passion." For example, in a stab wound, a killer would just stab his victim once or thrice but not 23 times. Killings involving couples or paramours, the normal number of stab wounds reach around 20x because there is an emotional element there.

In Vhong Navarro's case, he was severely mauled as if his attackers were probably shouting or accusing him of something while mauling him. What was he being accused of?

Third, Vhong Navarro's pants were lowered down and he was reportedly molested. Vhong claims that his attackers took shots at his genitals. He was even made to admit before the camera that he molested the girl.

If this is an extortion attempt, then why did the captors even went to the extent of taking shots at Vhong's genitals? I mean, what is the use of it? Will the captors show these photos before Vhong's relatives? Can they just take his face and photos as evidence?

Several people shared this story with me, and in the interest of the public, I will share this story here.

According to several people, there is a possibility that there was an unfortunate incident that happened between Vhong Navarro and the girl. This incident could possibly be sexual in nature. The girl might have felt violated.
The girl then went to her barkadas, who happened to be Cedric Lee, and sought vendetta.
That January 23 incident was a setup possibly to teach Vhong Navarro a lesson. What is that lesson? Let Cedric Lee explains it.