The development prompted Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, chief of police, to say that the case was already “80 percent closed” in favor of suicide.
He said that this was because the paraffin test conducted by the Northern Police District Crime Laboratory and released Tuesday night showed that the actor used a gun before he was found dead inside his black Toyota Altis parked along the service road of the Northern Luzon Expressway.
Earlier, an autopsy on Perez’s body revealed that the bullet that went through his right temple came from the .22 cal. pistol that was found near him.
The autopsy also showed that the fatal shot was fired at close range.
“(The direction of the investigation) is going (toward suicide),” Mayor told the Inquirer.
Police are still waiting for the results of a digital forensics examination showing an exchange of messages between the actor and several individuals.
If these back up the statements of the victim’s family and friends, Mayor said he would declare the case closed
In his statement to police, Alvin Salazar, a friend of the victim, said Perez had financial problems, adding that the actor had pawned his car to a casino earlier.
The victim’s wife, Liv, also admitted they were having marital problems, and that Perez had told her he would kill himself minutes before his death.
Senior Inspector Arthur Quiñones, chief of the investigation unit, told the Inquirer that photos of the car’s interior appeared to show no indication a struggle had occurred. “They seem to point that (Perez) was alone when he died …,” he said.