Dennis Sytin, whom authorities identified as the mastermind in the killing of his brother on Monday insisted on his innocence at the resumption of the preliminary investigation of the case.
“I maintain my innocence on the case filed against me,” said Dennis at the resumption of the hearing by the Department of Justice on the killing of his brother Dominic Sytin in November 2018.
“I would like to reiterate that I did not nor did I have anything to do with the killing of my brother, Dominic. The supposed testimony of the murderer of my brother pointing to me as the mastermind in the killing remains, at the very least, highly questionable,” he said, referring to alleged gunman Edgardo Luib.
In his 51-page counter-affidavit, Sytin described the gunman, Edgardo Luib, as a ‘polluted source’ and warned authorities to view his statement with ‘the greatest caution and circumspection.’
He added that Luib is ‘motivated by self-preservation.’
The younger Sytin denied meeting Luib and his employee, Oliver Fuentes, aka Ryan Rementilla, to discuss the murder of his brother.
Dennis argued that there was no physical evidence to link him to the planning of the crime, which allegedly happened in a beach resort. He said that there was no video footage, logbook, receipt or even statements from witnesses that would back Luib’s statements.
Contrary to the claim of Luib, Dennis said he was not at the All Hands Beach resort in Subic when they hatched the plan to kill his brother in September 2018.
“There is no clear and categorical statement from Luib that I was the person he and Oliver met with and talked to in September 2018 at All Hands beach…. There is no physical evidence which shows my purported link to the planning and perpetration of the crime to corroborate Luib’s statements,” he said.
“I am not capable of murder. I have no derogatory record. I had no participation or involvement in the murder of my brother, Dominic. I have never met Luib. I did not socialize with Oliver [Fuentes] outside work,” Dennis claimed.
Instead, Dennis pointed to Oliver Fuentes or Ryan Rementilla as the mastermind in the killing based on the evidence presented by the police.
He said Fuentes had a motive in having his brother killed, being a disgruntled employee when Dominic fired him in August 2018 for allegedly padding job orders and pocketing P1 million from United Auctioneers Inc. (UAI) collections.
‘After answering all their questions, the NBI found me negative for any participation or involvement in the killing of my brother and even specifically found that I had no specific reaction indicative of deception to questions asked relative to the investigation on the death of Dominic Sytin,’ he added.
He said the evidence pointed to Luib as the mastermind of the killing. Fuentes is expected to appear in the next hearing of the case on April 15.
Dennis mentioned his full cooperation with the investigation on the case, as well as the result of the polygraph test, which showed consistencies on his statements, as proof of his innocence.
“My full cooperation in the investigation and favorable polygraph test results are proof positive that I do not have a guilty conscience and that I am with my whole family in seeking justice for the death of my brother Dominic,” he stated.