3 kids, 2 others stabbed dead

BAGUIO CITY—A man stabbed and killed five people, including three children, in their apartment near the city market on Sunday, police said.

The bodies of Joey Nociete Jr., 8, Dave John de Guzman, 7, Raymond del Mundo, 8, Jaquelyn Kale Nociete, 19, and maid Jonalyn Lozano were discovered by the Nocietes’ parents at 6:30 p.m. Police said De Guzman and Del Mundo were playmates of Joey.

Police said Vilma Nociete, mother of Joey and Jaquelyn Kale, received several text messages from one of her children’s mobile phones to inform her that a visitor was looking for their father, said Supt. Andrew Cayad, spokesperson for  the Baguio City police.

Cayad said a witness saw a man knock on the apartment unit of the victims on Kayang Street in Hilltop District here.

In a news conference on Monday, Senior Supt. Rolando Miranda, city police director, said the police were looking for Philip Avino, the main suspect and former boyfriend of the Nociete family’s cook.  With a report from Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon