Sytin killer pleads guilty
Luib said his conscience got the better of him and left him with the choice to admit his guilt
The gunman who confessed to killing businessman Dominic Sytin on Wednesday entered a guilty plea to the murder and frustrated murder charges filed against him before an Olongapo court.
He also tagged the businessman’s brother as the mastermind to the killing.
The suspect, Edgardo Luib, pleaded guilty before Judge Richard Paradeza of Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 72 for the killing of Sytin and the wounding of his bodyguard Efren Espartero in Subic in November of 2018.
Asked to explain his stand, Luib said his conscience got the better of him and left him with the choice to admit his guilt.
He also disclosed that it was Sytin’s younger brother, Dennis Sytin, who ordered the hit on his elder brother.
Luib — who was arrested in Batangas in March for a different murder case — earlier admitted in his sworn statement to shooting Sytin and Espartero in a hotel in Subic in exchange for P50,000, allegedly upon Dennis’ order.
Dennis, in fact, had promised him P1 million for the kill contract.
The panel of Department of Justice (DoJ) prosecutors indicted him for murder and frustrated murder in July with Dennis and co-accused Oliver Fuentes alias Ryan Rementilla, remaining at large.
Luib’s lawyer, Zaldy Ambon, said the judge asked Luib thrice if he understood the consequences of his plea. He said his client just wants to come clean and according to Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon, Luib’s confession is a big blow to the defense.
“The confession and the plea of guilty of the accused, particularly of the gunman is going to be a very big help as far as the prosecution is concerned. And it’s going to be a very big blow as far as the other accused are concerned because nobody would be more credible than somebody who was actually there, present when the crime was actually being committed,” Fadullon said.
He added that the trial will proceed starting 11 September because Luib did not join Dennis’ petition for review with the DoJ, which would have delayed the trial.
Present during the hearing was the victim’s wife, Ann Sytin and Dominic’s other siblings.
An emotional Mrs. Sytin recounted the moment she saw the gunman in court, their first-ever meeting.
“When I saw him, I cannot help but — you know — remember how hurtful what he did to my family. Taking away my husband from us mercilessly,” she said, adding that while she’s relieved that Luib pleaded guilty, she will not settle for partial justice but will seek full justice.
She also asked for help in locating her brother-in-law and his co-accused.
Her message to them: “Please come out of hiding. Face the consequences of your actions.”