Seaman linked to slays of wife, three children

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is tracking down a seaman who is being eyed as the prime suspect in the gruesome killings of his wife and three children aged 5 to 13 whose mangled bodies were discovered in a shallow grave here last Wednesday.

But an NBI-police investigating team learned yesterday morning that Danilo Afalla, who hails from this capital town, has already returned to the United States.

A check by this paper with the Bureau of Immigration in Manila confirmed that Afalla left the country aboard a Lufthansa aircraft at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday.

"It was very strange for a husband and a father to be leaving the country when something had happened to his family," said Senior Inspector Peter Naboye, this town’s deputy police chief, adding that Afalla’s relatives even accompanied him to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The decomposing bodies of Afalla’s 40-year-old wife Recy and their three children, Chinny Claire, 13; Mark Anthony, 11; and Michael Angelo, 5, were found on the bank of the Magat River in Barangay Don Mariano Marcos here on the morning of April 18.

Lawyer Norman Taloza, NBI district head, said they were able to identify the bodies through a roll of film negative found near the shallow grave. Afalla’s mother Modesta confirmed the victims’ identities when the film was developed.

NBI agents also found an envelope with the name "Recy Afalla" and address "Taytay, Rizal" written on it.

Neighbors of the Afalla clan here said Danilo and his family arrived here last March 30 for a vacation. On April 2, they were reported to be going to Baguio City, and that was the last time Danilo’s wife and children were seen.

Three days before the bodies were found, Mario Santos, a high school friend of Danilo, said he saw bloodstains on a bedsheet and a pair of sandals at the back of the Afalla’s new Mitsubishi Adventure.

Santos said Danilo looked distraught and admitted having doubts that he was the father of his two youngest children.