Family of 6 hacked to death in Albay

LEGAZPI CITY — A family of six, four of them children, were hacked to death Thursday night by still unidentified suspects in the remote village of Barangay Tumpa in Camalig, Albay.

Senior Inspector Rogelio Beraquit, Camalig town police chief identified the victims as Jesus Moral, 48, his wife Marlene, 46, and their four children Kenneath, 8; Pipoy, 7; Jesus Jr., 5; and Gil, 4.

Beraquit said they have yet to establish the motive for the murders but no valuable items were taken from the house.

Police investigators are sifting all clues as well as the autopsy report that could help point to the identities of the assailants.

Probers discovered the bodies sprawled and piled on top of each other in the kitchen floor.

Jesus, the father, bore a hack wound in the head, while the other members of family had hack and stab wounds in the different parts of their bodies.

"Grabe ang dagit su mga nagibo kaini su pamilya Moral.(The assailants had so much hatred on the Moral family)," said Senior Inspector Rogelio Beraquit, Camalig town police chief, adding that a scene-of-the-crime team from Albay police provincial office conducted the investigation.

Beraquit said Tumpa Barangay Captain Romeo Moral reported the incident at about 5 a.m. Friday, prompting him to ask for trained crime investigators.

Probers who interviewed the victim’s neighbors said that at about 9 p.m. on Thursday, they heard the house of the victims being pelted with stones.

The assailants also destroyed the door and they heard a commotion inside. Marlene was reportedly heard asking the assailants to spare the life of her four children. They also heard the voice of the children crying and then there was silence.

Stones as big as a man’s fist were found in front and around the house as well as broken jalousies, and a bloodied bamboo spear outside the house.

Senior Superintendent Roque Ramirez, Albay police provincial director asked the victims’ neighbors to help in the ongoing investigation so as to identify the assailants.

"Of course, we will give them enough protection if they can help us identify any of the assailants," Ramirez said. — With James Mananghaya, AP, AFP