The Mysterious Death of Nida Blanca

Nida Blanca, also known as Dorothy Guinto Jones, was born in 1936 and launched a brilliant career in the entertainment sector in the 1950s. She rose to prominence for her role in the Philippine television sitcom John en Marsha, which aired from 1973 until 1990.

Blanca began acting at the age of 14 after being found by another movie actress, Delia Razon. Her debut picture, Reyna Elena, was released in 1951. And because she was transitioning from comedy to drama, she is renowned for being a versatile performer. Blanca's ability was outstanding, and according to my research, she won every award she was nominated for, from Best Actress to Supporting Actress to Best Comedy Actress. She even won a Lifetime Achievement Award from Gawad Urian, the Philippines' Oscar-style honoring ceremony, as well as the Film Academy of the Philippines. She starred in almost 160 films and 14 television episodes in the duration of her 50-year career in the industry.

In November 2001, it became the most chilling and frightening day in the show-business industry as it was said in the news that the brilliant actress, Nida Blanca, was found lifeless in the trunk of her car on the 33rd floor of a parking lot.

Blanca was stabbed over ten times, according to crime scene detectives, physicians who examine dead corpses, and news reports. The National Bureau of Investigation opened a parricide investigation on Blanca's husband, Rod Strunk. There were 3 or 4 other persons who were also suspected in the crime, one of them is a guy named Mendel, as it was believed that Strunk could have hired a shooter or gunmen to kill his wife. Since Blanca was one of the most awarded and wealthy actresses, it was believed that the cause of the horrendous crime was money. Blanca and Strunk's marriage was on the edge of a cliff and in her last will, she stated that all of her properties and assets will go to her only daughter. However, if Blanca is dead before the annulment, their marriage will be terminated and Strunk will get some of the assets because of being a legal spouse under Philippine law.

Here is the full scenario of Blanca's death:

• November 6, 2001, Nida Blanca was at the Atlanta Centre Building. Blanca was an active member of the Movies and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). Most Filipinos see the MTRCB as the ones who give the ratings, both for movies and television shows. This is very familiar since every start of a show or movie, there is always a precaution before to know that the next video will either be good for kids, or might need parental guidance, or is not really recommendable for kids to watch at all. At around 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, Blanca left the building to go to a wake in Forbes Park, Makati City. However, at 10:00 in the evening, her assistant, Elena Dela Paz, got worried because she hasn't heard from her boss during that time, so she called the actress' friends but they have no idea where she is as well. Dela Paz went to the Atlanta Centre Building and was told by the guard that Blanca's car was parked but since she thought that the actress might have gone into a different vehicle, she went home and told Blanca's husband, Strunk, that she had not seen her.

• November 7, at 8:00 a.m., a guard on duty was examining the 6th-floor parking space and saw blood on the floor. A trail of blood led him to a green Nissan Sentra owned by Nida Blanca. The car was secured when the security guard arrived, but the actress was discovered unconscious in the trunk.

According to the inquiry, because the actress died as a result of a stabbing, they originally checked the weapon that may have been used, thinking that the suspect might have used a separate set of knives, but it was later determined to be a single knife. There were no injuries on her face, indicating that she had been punched or fought back to rescue herself. The truck was likewise clean and neat, indicating that there was no "fight" inside. Because the security officer discovered a blood trail, the corpse might have been moved from one location to another.

A man by the name of Pedro Phillip Medel, Jr. came out to the public and admitted that he was the suspect in Nida Blanca's death. Medel released a statement and he used such "flowery" names to refer to people, excluding a man named Mike Martinez, who was the guy who called him to participate in a project called Tantoco Project. In his statement, he said that around 10:00 pm, he and another man he referred to as "Rad" parked in the parking lot of the Atlanta Centre Building next to a green car. Medel fell asleep as they were waiting and Rad went out of the car. Medel woke up around 1:00 am and saw Rad and two other women. Rad pushed a woman into the back seat of a car with the help of the other woman and as Medel saw it, he joined and began stabbing the woman.

The public made thought that Medel might have been referring to Rod Strunk as the "Rad", however, Strunk denied all allegations. Strunk was arrested for the crime in 2003. In 2007, he committed suicide by jumping off the hotel he was staying in.