CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – A young housewife was stabbed dead while her husband was seriously injured when a knife-wielding man attacked them inside their residence shortly after midnight Sunday (April 30) at Barangay Lanang, Candaba, Pampanga.
Supt. Paul Gamido, Candaba police chief, identified the fatality as Catherine Tobias De los Santos, 29, of San Luis, Pampanga. Injured was Jake Joseph de los Santos, 29, of Bgy. Lanang.
He said the victims’ two children ages 5 and 2 years old were spared from the attack.
Gamido said a manhunt had been launched against the suspect who was identified through his facebook page as Rodolfo Dato Yupio Jr.
Yupio is a stay-in worker at the victim’s aqua farm situated adjacent to the De los Santos residence.
Jake Joseph suffered multiple stab wounds but survived, while his wife Catherine bore a fatal stab wound at her back.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Jake Joseph said he was awakened of a commotion from the living room only to find out that his wife was lying on a pool of blood.
Jake Joseph said he saw the suspect, still clutching a kitchen knife soaked with blood, rushing out of his room. He said he tried to put up a fight but was stabbed in different parts of his body. Injured, he managed to get out of the house and sought the help of his parents, staying just a few meters away from his residence.
Bounty
Both De los Santos and Tobias families raised P400,000 as cash reward for any information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
The suspect, who reportedly suffered cuts during the brawl with De los Santos, according to local police, vanished without a trace.
We received information that an injured man was rushed to the Arayat District Hospital for treatment but turned out to be false when checked by the police, said Gamido.
Gamido said his men reached as far as Bulacan to check hospitals but returned to police headquarters empty handed.
“Nagbantay ako sa Victory Liner Bus terminal baka sakali dun sumakay ang suspect, pero wala akong nakita hanggang hapon,” Gamido said.
Not a robbery
Police ruled out robbery angle as no valuables and cash were missing as reported to them by the relatives of the victims.
On Saturday afternoon (April 29), Yupio told the woman De los Santos that he would like to get his end of the month salary on Sunday.
Jake Joseph said his wife told him about Yupio’s request, saying the money was more than enough as he just harvested several kilos from his aqua farm.
Jake Joseph has in his pocket P50,000 in proceeds from the sale of cultured fish.
The suspect was last seen with another worker downing several bottles of alcohol late Saturday afternoon. He even helped De los Santos in harvesting cultured fish for sale.
Jake Joseph said it was past 10 p.m. (Saturday) when he arrived home and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up and went to bed. He did not notice that his wife left their room to do household chores and laundry.
“Kasi ganun ang nakasanayan ng misis ko. Naglalaba sa gabi para maasikaso ang aming dalawang anak sa araw,” said Jackie.
Cry for justice
Yupio is considered a member of the family already, said Jackie, working in their farm for more than six years.
“We shared what we ate and dined at the same time in one table,” Jackie said.
Jake Joseph said he cannot believe what Yupio did to them despite their kindness.
“It’s better for him to surrender so that justice will be served for my family. Hustisya lang ang hiling ko para sa aking mahal na asawa na si Catherine,” said Jake Joseph.