5 murdered, burned in QC home

MANILA, Philippines – Five people, including a three-year-old girl, were found murdered inside a house that was burned in what could be a case of robbery with arson in Quezon City yesterday.

Felicitas Jiao, 70, and her granddaughter Nina, 3, were among the fatalities.

Also found dead in the burning house at 87 Talayan street in Barangay Talayan were three house helpers identified only as Gloria, 65; Lyn, 20; and Marie, 20.

Police identified 88-year-old Victor Geronimo Jiao as the lone survivor who could be the key to the solution of the case.

The bodies were discovered by firefighters who rushed to the house when the blaze was alarmed at 11:55 a.m., said Chief Fire Inspector Danilo Jamito, chief of operations of the Quezon City Fire District.

Felicitas was still alive when she was found by firefighters but eventually died in hospital, Jamito said.

The old woman and the three maids were found gagged and hogtied with several stab wounds in the body.

Nina, on the other hand, was found with a rope looped around her neck.

The girl and helpers Lyn and Marie were found inside the maids’ quarters while Gloria was located inside a nearby comfort room.

“They sustained burns but their bodies were not totally charred so we were still able to notice the stab wounds they sustained,” Jamito told The STAR in an interview.

The fire reached third alarm before it was put under control at 12:25 noon. A fire out was declared at 1:07 p.m., Jamito said.

He said the house was practically destroyed but there were portions that were not totally gutted. He also noted that the fire was started in different portions of the house.

Police investigators are eyeing a possible case of robbery and had suspected that the fire could be an attempt to cover-up the heist and murders.

Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr., chief of the theft and robbery section of the Quezon City Police District, said “there are indications that a robbery took place in the house.”