Abendan
A 40-year-old mother of five children was killed after she was stabbed 23 times by one of the robbers who broke into her house about 1 a.m. yesterday in barangay Buanoy in Balamban town.
Cesar Carmelotes, a neighbor, was later arrested by the police after he was identified by the daughter of Jonalyn Abendan as the one who stabbed her mother.
He denied the allegations, saying he could not have robbed and stabbed Abendan since he was drunk after attending a fiesta celebration on Saturday night.
Carmelotes said he is a supervisor in a Japanese company located in Balamban and lives alone after he and his wife separated.
Police are still looking for the other suspect identified only as “Jay”.
The victim’s husband, Vitallano Abendan Jr., who is working in Australia, has been informed about the murder, according to the police.
Police said Abendan and her six-year-old daughter were asleep in the living room when two men wearing bonnets entered the house through the sari-sari store at the back of the house.
The door connecting the house and the store was left open Saturday night.
The police said the suspects were tying up Abendan when her 14-year-old daughter went in to check on the noise in the living room. She too was tied up by the robbers.
Abendan and her daughter were taken to the toilet, leaving the 6-year-old child still sleeping in the living room. The other children aged 13, 12 and 9 were sleeping in another room.
One of the suspects kept watch over the two victims while the other ransacked the house.
While inside the toilet, Abendan realized that she knew the suspect – Carmelotes – who lived a few meters away from their house.
She started to berate Carmelotes and told him that she knew them.
The suspect allegedly became irritated and started stabbing Abendan in front of her daughter.
The two suspects then escaped with several pieces of jewelry, a laptop, tablet computers and cellular phones, among others.
The girl was able to free herself by using her teeth to untie the rope and sought for help.
Melissa Curay, the family’s maid, said there were instances that the backdoor was not locked especially when the six year old, a special child, played around the house before going to sleep.
Curay was not in the house when the robbery happened because she was in the hospital attending to her sick mother.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development took custody of the children.
Social worker Abel Tolero said the children are still traumatized, especially the 14 year old who witnessed her mother’s murder .
“We need to get the children out of the house, out of the neighborhood. The children, especially the 14 year old is so scared. She know that the suspects are from their community. She fears for their safety. We will have to debrief the kids and put them in a safe place,” Tolero said.