The police clarified on Monday that the woman and her 18-year-old son whose bodies were found stuffed into the trunk of their car had been shot to death.
Quoting the autopsy report, Parañaque police chief Senior Superintendent Ariel Andrade said that Fe Rafael, 54; and Danilo Rafael Jr., were not clubbed to death as earlier believed.
Both died after they were shot in the head with a cal. .45 pistol.
Fe’s husband, Danilo Rafael Sr., emerged as the primary suspect in the case as he has yet to be found following the discovery of the victims.
Around midnight on Sunday, the Rafaels’ family car, a red Ford Fiesta, with the two bodies in the baggage compartment was discovered parked outside the house of Fe’s parents in Multinational Village, Barangay (village) Moonwalk, Parañaque City, by Fe’s brother, Daniel Castro Jr.
The Rafaels lived in a house in the same village.
Meanwhile, investigators have gathered more damning evidence linking Danilo Sr., to the brutal crime, including footage taken by closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and a statement from his own daughter.
According to case investigator Senior Police Officer 4 Charlie Bayuca of the Parañaque police, footage from a CCTV camera at a neighbor’s house showed the suspect driving the Ford Fiesta and leaving it at 9:26 p.m. on Saturday.
The bodies were found shortly after midnight.
Police believe the suspect left the car keys in the garage of Fe’s parents where it was retrieved the next day.
Footage taken by another CCTV near the clubhouse and one of the subdivision’s gates also showed the suspect who was wearing a ball cap and a backpack, leaving the area.
But perhaps the most damning of the recently collated police evidence was an affidavit issued by 21-year-old Kim Rafael, the couple’s only surviving child.
Andrade, quoting the affidavit, said Kim confirmed her father’s jealous streak, and her parents’ constant arguments over it. Danilo Sr. was prone to confiding in Kim, Andrade said.
“She said that in recent days, he had repeatedly threatened his wife,” he added.
Bayuca, quoting statements from Kim and Daniel Castro Jr., said that the victims and the suspect had announced their plan to attend a reunion among Danilo Sr.’s kin in Maragondon, Cavite province on Friday.
“But according to the suspect’s family in Maragondon, they never made it there. They tried to call [Danilo Sr.] but he didn’t answer his phone,” Bayuca said.
Bayuca further quoted Kim as narrating that her father was so jealous “he always wanted Fe by his side. Whenever a client would call her, he would question her over it,” the investigator said.
Bayuca said Kim did not go with her family on Thursday as she lives in Quezon City, where she is working for an information technology company.
Police have also found out that both Danilo Sr. and Fe had children from previous marriages. The Ford Fiesta belonged to Fe, but she had bought it for one of her children from her previous marriage, Andrade said.
Investigators are still trying to determine when and where the killings happened.
“But it definitely was not in the car as there were no blood splatters inside,” Bayuca said.
Bayuca said Danilo Sr., once arrested, would be charged with two counts of parricide.