Mother accused of suffocating 2 children in Rizal

A mother of two is facing parricide charges after allegedly suffocating her children, including a 4-month-old baby, at their home in San Mateo municipality in Rizal province.

The lifeless bodies of a 2-year-old toddler and the months-old baby were found by their relatives inside a room and in bed with their mother Melissa Sumanting, 34, in Buntong Palay, Barangay (village) Silangan on Wednesday morning.

Case investigator PO2 Rouel Tenegra said in a police report that Sumanting attempted to kill herself after suffocating her children around 8 a.m.

“After a drinking spree with her friend, she slashed her both wrists using a kitchen knife. She then suffocated her children with her bare hands until they died,” Tenegra said.

Sumanting was believed to have used a 12-inch kitchen knife to hurt herself.

Police also suspected the mother of two to be under the influence of drugs as they recovered an improvised tooter and a lighter in the crime scene.

The victims were brought to the regional scene of the crime operations to undergo autopsy examination. RC