Four killed in massacre in Masbate town

NAGA CITY— A couple and their two young children were found dead early Friday in what appeared to be a massacre of a family in Barangay Poblacion in Pio V. Corpuz, Masbate.

The bodies of Jimmy Dublin, 35, his wife Helena, 33, and their sons Jason, 13, and Gerald, 9. were found inside their residents with hack wounds, Senior Inspector Rodel Areval, officer in charge of the PNP Pio V. Corpuz, said in a phone interview Friday.

Arevalo said one of the children, Genelyn, 11, who survived to tell the horror, was able to escape from the carnage with her 11-month-old brother.

He quoted Genelyn as testifying that a a bolo-wielding man barged through their house and killed her family shortly before midnight on Thursday.

The police found Helena dead outside their house while Jimmy and the two children were recovered bloodied inside.

The police was able to identify the suspect although they could not yet release the name pending further investigation, said Arevalo.

Motive for the killings was still to be established.

Manhunt operation for the suspect is ongoing.

Pio V. Corpuz is about 90 kilometers south of Masbate City, provincial capital of Masbate.