Film director killed in Cubao home

A former movie director of Sampaguita Pictures was robbed and bludgeoned to death while his driver was stabbed dead the other night by a helper inside his house in Cubao, Quezon City.

Danny Holmsen, 72, a movie director in the ’60s and ’70s, of 30 Harvard street, Barangay Socorro, Cubao, suffered head injuries and died almost instantly, police said.

His body was found inside the master’s bedroom at the second floor of his home.

Holmsen’s driver, Norman Francisco Barte, 24, sustained multiple stab wounds in the body and died at the ground floor of the house.

The suspect was identified only as a certain "Jerry," Holmsen’s houseboy, who fled right after the killing.

Police sources said that the motive was robbery. The bodies were found at about 3 p.m. inside the house by a certain Inocente Gatil.

Investigators said Holmsen’s cell phone and a still undetermined amount of cash were stolen.

The suspect Jerry had reportedly been under Holmsen’s employment for only a few months.

Police said that the killer used a blunt object which was repeatedly used on the head of the former director while he was sleeping inside his bedroom.

After taking his cell phone and cash, the suspect rushed downstairs and stabbed Barte on the chest and neck with a kitchen knife before escaping.

The Central Police District is now conducting follow-up operations on the case to determine the suspect’s whereabouts and other motives. Operatives are also looking into the possibility that other suspects may have been involved.