Hunt on for suspect in Moonwalk murders

MANILA, Philippines - Parañaque police officers are searching for a man who went missing when his wife and son were found dead in the trunk of their family car, parked in Moonwalk Subdivision, an official said yesterday.

Danilo Rafael Sr. was seen on closed-circuit television footage arriving at about 9 p.m. Saturday and leaving the vehicle parked at his mother-in-law’s house at the corner of Narra and Timothy streets, city police chief Senior Superintendent Ariel Andrade said.

The bodies of his wife Fe, 54; and son Danilo Jr., 18, were found at around 2 a.m. Sunday in the trunk of their Ford Fiesta. An autopsy report stated that they had been shot in the head at close range with a .45 caliber pistol, Andrade said. Earlier reports said they had been bludgeoned to death.

“We will be filing murder charges against the suspect as soon as we complete our report,” he said.

The victims were last seen alive on Thursday, when Danilo Sr. drove the car to attend a family reunion in Maragondon, Cavite, but they never showed up at the event.

Investigators said that Danilo Sr. is Fe’s second husband and relatives described him to be a “very suspicious and jealous” man.

“The husband, who was jobless, often followed his wife, including to her place of work,” Andrade said.

Fe has another son by her first husband. The son is now working abroad, investigators said.

“We are  still conducting profile and background investigation of the  victims and the suspect,” Andrade said.

Neighbors said Fe’s relatives have closed the house, where the car had been parked, and left for Cavite.