Fight between suspect, old flame eyed in Baguio stabbing spree

MANILA, Philippines – A fight between a man and his estranged partner may have compelled the former to stab and kill five people, among them three minors, in Baguio City on Sunday.

Baguio City police chief Senior Superintendent Rolando Miranda said in an Inquirer Radio 990AM report that a certain Philip Avino was believed to have stabbed his former live-in partner and housemaid Jonalyn Lozano, who was taking care of three children and a teenager while the parents were away.

The police chief said Lozano might have refused to be reunited with Avino, provoking the suspect to go on a stabbing spree that also claimed the lives of the children.

Among the fatalities were Jackelyn Nociete, 19, and her brother Joey Nociete, 8; Joey’s playmates Dave John de Guzman, 7, and Raymund del Mundo, 8; and housemaid Lozano.

Around Sunday afternoon, the elder Nociete supposedly texted their mother that a visitor was looking for their father.

The mother then went home and discovered her children, their playmates, and the housemaid bloodied on the floor.

The police have set a P100,000 reward for the suspect.

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