Suspect ‘acting strange’: Man kills brother and wounds parents

CEBU, Philippines- It was a tragic weekend for a family in Nivel Hills, Barangay Busay, Cebu City after a 22-year-old man attacked his parents and his brother with a knife yesterday morning.

 Believed to be mentally disturbed, Cedric Arnejo then locked himself and his victims inside their house, surrendering only after an hour.

Neighbors then rushed Manolito, 67; Lucina, 63; and Jonathan, 23, to the hospital for treatment. Jonathan, though, died around three hours later yesterday, while his parents are now recuperating at the hospital.

Senior Police Officer 4 Rey Cuyos of the Cebu City Police Office Homicide Section said at around 11:15 a.m. yesterday, Cedric, who was allegedly armed with two knives, went inside their house and began attacking his family members.

Cedric first met Manolito, whom he suddenly stabbed in the left side of his body. After attacking his father, Cedric then started entering the rooms of their house.

Cuyos said Jonathan, who was resting inside his room, stood up to check what was happening outside. When he opened the door, Cedric was allegedly in front of him and immediately stabbed him in the neck.

Lucina, who saw what happened to her husband and her son, immediately ran to go outside and escape. Cedric allegedly chased her and stabbed her also in the left side of her body.

Despite her wound, Lucina was still able to go outside ask for help from their neighbors, who called for police assistance.

A neighbor, who refused to be named, said Manolito and Lucina have three sons and a daughter. Another woman was also living with them but she could not tell the woman’s relationship with the Arnejos.

The neighbor said they saw Cedric locking himself inside their rented house, detaining his family members.

Neighbors who got wind of what happened gathered outside the Arnejos’ residence to help in negotiating with Cedric, who appeared to have no plans of freeing his family members and surrendering to the responding Mobile Patrol Group and Special Weapons and Tactics policemen.

The neighbor said they heard the victims who were locked up inside the house shouting for help and crying.

She said that during the negotiation, which lasted for almost an hour, neighbors asked Cedric what he wanted. Cedric allegedly told them he liked to have a job and a piggery business.

She said one of the neighbors then took out a P500 bill and told Cedric he can have the money for him to buy feeds for his pigs.

Seeing the P500 bill, Cedric opened the door and went out. He was then instructed by the policemen and the neighbors to put down the knife and a water pipe he was holding. The other knife was allegedly lost.

Cedric was then handcuffed by the policemen and brought to the CCPO stockage.

 Jonathan, Manolito, and Lucina were immediately brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. However, Jonathan died at around 2 p.m. yesterday.

The neighbor said she is also a witness of Cedric’s unusual behavior.  One time, she said, Cedric suddenly went wild inside an Internet café for no apparent reason, but he allegedly did not attack anyone.

Cuyos said Manolito and Lucina told him that Cedric had already been brought to the VSMMC mental ward after they noticed him acting strangely.

Cuyos said Cedric stayed there overnight and was given a medical prescription, only that he allegedly did not take the medicines prescribed and just threw them all away.

The parents, Cuyos said, could not tell if their son is into illegal drugs, only that there are times when he sometimes behaved unusually.

He said Manolito and Lucina had no plans of filing a case against Cedric even when their other son is killed, as they wanted him to enter the mental ward again for treatment.

Cuyos, however, said they would wait until today whether or not the couple would change their mind and would file charges against Cedric. — /RHM (FREEMAN)