Massacre suspect owns up to crime

MANILA, Philippines - The primary suspect in the Valentine’s Day massacre of a family of four in Cainta, Rizal yesterday owned up to the crime, saying he could no longer stand the repeated nagging of his uncle’s wife.

Suspect Fortunato Acibar Jr., 24, said he was drunk when he repeatedly stabbed his uncle Amado Acibar Sr., 45; his wife Elizabeth, 40; and their children Amado Jr., 14, and Fretchie, 10.

Acibar Jr. showed signs of “mental disorder” when asked by police investigators to describe in detail how he committed the crime.

Police are readying multiple murder and child abuse charges against Acibar Jr., who is now detained at the Cainta police detention center.

As pieced together by police investigators, Acibar Jr. spent the afternoon of Feb. 13 drinking with friends. He was dead drunk when he arrived at his uncle’s residence at Westbank Floodway in Barangay San Andres, Cainta.

Acibar Jr. said the victims were sound asleep when he turned on the TV in the sala and watched movies.

But the noise from the TV roused Elizabeth from sleep and she berated him while he was seated on the sofa.

Apparently irked, Acibar Jr. grabbed a knife in the kitchen and stabbed Elizabeth who pleaded for her life.

Upon hearing his wife’s shouts for help, Acibar Sr. rushed to grab the knife from the suspect and a scuffle ensued. Amado Sr. was stabbed in the process.

The two children were awakened by the noise and they, too, were repeatedly stabbed by Acibar Jr. despite their pleadings.

Police said Acibar Sr. tried to escape but his nephew cornered him near the gate and attacked him, with the kitchen knife still stuck in his neck when policemen reached the scene hours later.

Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr., Calabarzon police director, said Acibar Jr. escaped to Boac, Marinduque where joint elements of the Cainta police and the local police arrested him in a resort near Barangays Buliangin and Maligaya Tuesday afternoon.

Pagdilao said a concerned citizen tipped off Boac policemen about the suspect’s presence in the town.

Acibar yielded a bloodstained cellular phone, which would be subjected to serology examination. His fingerprints will also be compared to those lifted from the crime scene.

Pagdilao said effective coordination among police units led to the suspect’s speedy arrest, commending the Rizal and Marinduque police for their good investigative work.      – With Rudy Santos