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Man sentenced in Peace Corps worker slaying

By Rita Farlow, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, July 1, 2008

U.S. Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell, 40, worked as a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times in 1996 and 1997.
	[CourtTVnews.com]

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Juan Donald Duntugan, who publicly confessed to the 2007 murder of a former St. Petersburg Times reporter, was found guilty of murder in the Philippines on Monday.

After a trial, a Filipino court sentenced Duntugan, 25, to at least 20 years in prison for killing Julia Campbell, who was serving in the Philippines as a Peace Corps volunteer.

"We hope that today's verdict provides some comfort to Julia Campbell's family. The Peace Corps continues to mourn her loss," said press director Amanda Beck. "She was a dedicated and vibrant volunteer. She loved serving in the Philippines and contributed greatly to the lives of the people in (the Philippines) where she served."

In a 36-page ruling, the judge sentenced Duntugan to "reclusion perpetua" — or 20 to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Campbell's body was found April 18, 2007, buried in a shallow grave near the village of Batad, north of Manila. She had been missing for 10 days, since Easter Sunday.

Campbell was last seen about a mile from where her body was discovered, in a village outside Banaue town in Ifugao province. She had planned to visit mountainside rice terraces there, officials with the Peace Corps said.

Duntugan surrendered and confessed to the murder about 10 days after Campbell's remains were located. "I admit it, yes. I killed her," he told the Filipino television station ABS-CBN.

The wood carver said he mistook Campbell for a neighbor he had been feuding with when he hit her on the head with a rock after she bumped into him.

Campbell, who reported on the city of Oldsmar for the Times in 1996 and 1997, joined the Peace Corps in March 2005. She had also reported for the New York Times and People magazine.

Her Peace Corps term was to end in June 2007 and she planned to start graduate school at New York University in August 2007.

As part of his sentence, Duntugan was also ordered to pay $887,788 in restitution to Campbell's family.

There is no death penalty in the Philippines. According to Beck, Campbell was the 21st Peace Corps volunteer murdered since the organization was founded in 1961. One of the organization's oldest programs, more than 8,000 have served in the Philippines. There are 68 Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines.

Information from Times files was used in this report. Rita Farlow can be reached at farlow@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4162.