Old man nearly wipes out family

Only days after a desperate mother killed her two children in Caloocan City, a 66-year-old man stabbed dead his wife, daughter, and son-in-law and seriously injured his grandson in a fit of rage early yesterday morning in Parañaque.

Suffering from an eye disease and deafness, suspect Magno Cahutay, of Langka Street, Ipil Side, Barangay BF Homes, used a 16-inch knife to stab his wife Crisanta, 65, daughter, Ofelia Fernandez, 39, son-in-law Samuel Fernandez, 40, and eight-year-old grandson Ulysses, said case investigator Senior Police Officer 4 Bert Parena.

The police said all the victims sustained multiple stab wounds in the body. The Fernandez couple died on the spot. Crisanta was rushed to a nearby clinic but expired on the way. Ulysses, the couple’s son, is now under observation at the Medical Center in Parañaque.

The suspect’s granddaughter, identified as Rosemarie Hernandez, 17, escaped the carnage and gave police an account of why Cahutay went on a rampage and attacked his own family.

Quoting Rosemarie, Parena told The STAR that Cahutay had suspected his wife and daughter of keeping for themselves the money a son in Korea had been sending for his eye treatment.

But Rosemarie said no money had ever been sent for her grandfather.

At around 3:30 a.m. yesterday, Cahutay without warning, pounced on his victims. Rosemarie and Ulysses ran out of the house to escape their grandfather’s wrath. Unfortunately, Cahutay caught up with his grandson and repeatedly stabbed him outside the house.

Crisanta was found in the kitchen while the Fernandez couple’s bodies were discovered inside their sari-sari store in front of their house.

Parena said after cleaning the knife, Cahutay packed his clothes and ran out of the house to escape.

But alert neighbors and responding policemen from the Police Community Precinct 4 collared the suspect. Authorities recovered the weapon.