Suspect in killing of mother, 2 kids in Romblon nabbed

CITY OF CALAPAN — Police arrested on Friday, January 28, one of the suspects in the killing of a woman and her two children inside their house in San Jose town in Romblon province, according to a report from Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) police office Sunday afternoon.

On Wednesday, January 26, Wielyn Mendoza, 29, a single mother and her sons TJ, 9, and JB, 7, were found dead due to stab wounds in their house in Sitio (sub-village) Upper Hinulugan in Barangay (village) Poblacion.

Patrick Cahilig, 35, a resident of Barangay Busay and one of the four “persons of interest” in the killings earlier identified by San Jose police was arrested on Friday at around 6 p.m. after he was identified by witness Charlie Seraspi.

Police, in its earlier progress report, said the victims attended a birthday party at their neighbor’s house and went home with Seraspi on Tuesday, January 25, at about 10:30 p.m. Seraspi, a relative and neighbor of Wielyn, told police that he slept in a separate room inside the victim’s house after the party.

At about 1 a.m. Wednesday, he was “awakened by a noise of a chain and he saw the suspect going out of the victim’s house,” the police report said. Seraspi told police he did not pay much mind to Cahilig and went back to sleep.

Seraspi said brothers Warlito and Wilbert Mendoza, other relatives of the victims, woke him up at about 8 a.m. and told him that the mother and kids were dead.

Police said Seraspi was able to identify the suspect because he is his mother’s live-in partner.

“He was just afraid to divulge his information and execute [the] affidavit right away for security reason,” the report said.

Police Major Loreto Maulion, Mimaropa police public information office chief, said that the suspect did not admit to the crime so they could not yet speculate on a possible motive.

Maulion said San Jose police reported that the suspect was a worker in Wielyn’s house which is under construction. She apparently dismissed him before the killing due to unspecified reasons.

The suspect is under police custody while documents for inquest proceedings before the provincial prosecutor’s office in Odiongan town for three counts of murder are being prepared.

Meanwhile, the police has refused to identify the other persons of interest in the case.

On Thursday, January 27, Seraspi, in his Facebook page, posted a photo of the victims appealing for justice.

“I laud San Jose MPS (municipal police station) for solving this crime, but I still direct the said unit to pursue its in-depth investigation in order to still identify other possible cohorts in the said felonious incident,” said Police Brigadier General Sidney Hernia, regional director, in a statement.