CEBU CITY, Philippines – Jealousy allegedly drove a man to stab to death his own wife, and wound his son in Tuburan town, northern Cebu on Monday, May 13 – a day after Mother’s Day.
An argument between family members in Brgy. Maghan-ay ended in a bloody tragedy on Monday, police in Tuburan confirmed.
The crime took place around 1 a.m., police said, with suspect identified as Felix Marquez Rebanuel Sr.
Rebanuel, 69, was accused of killing his wife, Leonila Cerado Maguate, 57. The crime apparently stemmed from a dispute that began the suspect barged in Maguate’s house.
Rebanuel and Maguate had been separated for several years already, according to their youngest daughter Maria Gina “Dindin” Rebanuel.
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In an interview with Cebu-based radio station dyHP, Dindin said that her father suddenly went and visited her mother Maguate.
Despite being separated already, the suspect reportedly had been frequenting their house that usually ends in arguments and commotions, she added.
That time, Rebanuel and Dindin once again got into a fight but family members were shocked when the suspect grabbed a bolo and then hacked Marguete multiple times.
One of the couple’s son, identified as Felix Rebanuel Jr., tried to intervene but instead, his father also attacked him with his bolo.
Both victims sustained severe wounds on the head. However, Marguete, who also had wounds around her neck died shortly.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital but physicians declared her dead on arrival.
The suspect Rebanuel also stabbed himself on the stomach after committing the crime.
He is still confined in a nearby public hospital.
According to Dindin, they believed jealousy promopted Rebanuel in committing the crime.
She said their father had long been furious against their mother over his suspicions that the latter had an affair with another man.
In the meantime, police continue to conduct further investigations into the killing.
Tuburan is a second-class municipality located approximately 92 kilometers northwest of Cebu City.