Suspect in Moonwalk murders caught

MANILA, Philippines - A man accused of murdering his wife and son – whose bodies were found in the trunk of the family car in Moonwalk Subdivision, Parañaque City – was arrested in Tuguegarao, Cagayan yesterday.

Police tracker teams are “on the way” to Metro Manila with Danilo Rafael Sr., 55, Southern Police District director Chief Superintendent Jose Erwin Villacorte told The STAR.

Rafael was arrested in front of Hotel Carmelita at past 5 p.m. yesterday.

He added that a loaded .45 caliber pistol and an extra magazine were seized from Rafael. No other details were available as of press time.

Before dawn yesterday, police officers raided a house in Maragondon, Cavite where Rafael reportedly killed his wife Fe, 54, and 18-year-old son Danilo Jr.

Parañaque police chief Senior Superintendent Ariel Andrade said residents of Barangay Babakaw in Maragondon heard several gunshots from the house Friday night.

Crime scene investigators found a slug and three shells from a .45 caliber pistol at the house and will subject them to a ballistics exam, he said.

Blood spatters were found in the master’s bedroom, Andrade said.

Autopsy reports indicate that the victims were shot at close range with a .45 caliber pistol.

The victims were last seen alive on Thursday, when Rafael drove the car for them to attend a family reunion in Maragondon, but they never showed up at the event.

Their bodies were found in the trunk of their family’s Ford Fiesta, which was parked in front of the house of Fe’s mother in Moonwalk Subdivision Saturday night.

Surveillance footage showed that Rafael arrived at around 9 p.m. Saturday and parked the Fiesta, which was discovered at around 2 a.m. Sunday.

Andrade said records show Rafael owns a .45 caliber pistol whose license has expired.   – With Non Alquitran