Two minors and their mother were mercilessly killed inside their residence by two drunken men in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan Monday evening.
Bulacan Police Provincial Director, Col. Chito Bersaluna identified the victims as Jaymee Casabuena, 28, and her children Anton Gabriel, 8 and Joaquin Mateo, 4, who are residents of Carisa 2A, Barangay Kaypian, San Jose Del Monte.
The victims, who were believed to have died several hours after the incident, had bloated bodies when found.
A day after the killing, two suspects were arrested following two separate police operations in an area near the victims’ residence.
Bersaluna identified the suspects as Wilson Nosal, 23, a resident of Norzagaray, Bulacan and Joselito Cortez, 48, of Area D, B12, Brgy Terona, Cavite, who was intercepted at the boundary of Barangay San Manuel in SJDM.
The killing of the three victims is the second grisly incident that occurred in San Jose del Monte following a 2017 Bulacan massacre which claimed the lives of five members of the Carlos family, including a one-year-old boy, reportedly perpetuated by five suspects.
Bersaluna said the resolution of the case came following the identification of the suspects by several witnesses to the incident.
Quoting a witness account, Bersaluna said a neighbor reported to have heard persons knocking at the victims’ house two nights ago on April 2. An hour later, two playmates of the victims saw two persons from the house of the victims asking if the boy Jaymee was in the house.
When grilled, the suspects told police investigators that their intention was to rob the victims. The victims, however, resisted, prompting the suspects to stab them several times, leading to the victims’ deaths.
Reports said suspect Nosal was apparently known to the victims since he happens to be a live-in partner of one of the relatives of the victims.
Bersaluna said Nosal admitted committing the crime and pointed to Cortez as the one who took the victim’s cellphone and sold it for P200 pesos.
Bersaluna said several bloodied garments were recovered at the crime scene while other clothes were thrown by the suspects at a creek where they were found after they were arrested.
Criminal charges for robbery with homicide are now being readied against the suspects.