A 32-YEAR-OLD farmer fatally stabbed his wife before taking his own life in an apparent murder-suicide in Barangay Pagsulhugon, Sta. Rita, Samar on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Their five-day-old baby was found unharmed during the incident, according to the police.
The couple was only identified by their aliases, “Rey” and “Julie,” both residents of the said barangay.
Initial investigation revealed that the suspect had been exhibiting “strange behavior” in recent days, reportedly due to personal and marital problems.
Prior to the incident, the suspect held his wife and newborn hostage and threatened to kill them, prompting relatives and neighbors to look for police assistance around 7:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Responding officers from the Sta. Rita Municipal Police Station arrived at the scene after receiving a call from a concerned citizen around 8 a.m.
Upon arrival, police found the couple lifeless inside a locked room.
“Believing the victim might still be alive, she was rushed to Basey District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician,” the Police Regional Office-Eastern Visayas said in an initial report.
Investigators said the suspect first stabbed his wife.
After realizing she was dead, he allegedly took his own life by slashing his throat with the same knife. (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)