Ex-seaman kills wife, 3 children, maid in Talisay City

CEBU CITY—A 55-year-old former seaman shot dead his wife, three children and their housemaid before killing himself during breakfast on Sunday in their home in Talisay City, southern Cebu.

Emmanuel “Jet” Ponce, however, spared his youngest daughter whom he ordered to get out of the house while he was about to shoot his son who was kneeling in front of him.

The tragedy shocked their neighbors in Palm View Village at Barangay (village) Tabunok in Talisay, about 12 kilometers south of this city.

While neighbors knew of instances that Emmanuel hit his wife, Melinda, who is Banco de Oro branch manager in Barangay Tabuan, Cebu City,  they didn’t expect that he would snap and kill her, his children and housemaid.

Tabunok Councilor Joy Sabejon said the couple had not been in good terms for almost a decade since Emmanuel lost his job as a seaman following an accident on board the ship that caused him an injury in the head.

The couple, however, continued to live together in one house for the sake of the children, he added.

“The kids were used to seeing (their parents) fight but we didn’t expect that it would turn out like this,” he said.

Aside from Melinda, Emmanuel killed his eldest daughter, Elaine Grace, 26; son Heether Joy, 25; daughter Emlin Bridge, 18; and housemaid Anastacia Deñiega, 30.

Melinda, who started engaging in the sport of running at the age of 48, was training for the Milo Marathon national finals in December in Manila after she qualified. Last weekend, she emerged female champion in the Summit 60K Ultra Marathon Challenge in Cebu.

Elaine Grace was a volunteer nurse at the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, who was scheduled to work in Canada.

Heether was a nursing graduate while Emlin was a Radio Technology student.

The three were said to be close to Melinda and would side with their mother whenever she would get beaten up.

The lone survivor, Embrelaince Therjoy, 14, a second year high school student, was reportedly closer to Emmanuel.

Embrelaince was inside her room when she heard burst of gunfire past 8 a.m.

She went out of her room and saw her brother kneeling in front of his father who was pointing a gun at him. She also saw two women lying on the floor in the living room.

Emmanuel told Embrelaince to get out of the house because he would kill everyone inside before killing himself.

“Gawas didto ‘day. Pagtawag og polis kay ikaw ra’y mabuhi, kaming tanan mamatay (Get out of the house, my little one. Call the police because you will be the only one who will live. We will all be dead),” he told Embrelaince.

The girl got out of the house and heard bursts of gunfire.

She ran into Yolanda Daan, wife of Provincial Board Member Julian “Teban” Daan, a neighbor and a family friend. She told Daan what happened inside their house.

By then, policemen had already arrived after they received a call from a neighbor at 8:24 a.m. about the bursts of gunfire from the Ponce’s home.

Policemen asked Daan to take care of Embrelaince while they went inside the house.

Senior Police Officer 1 Mikie Espina, investigator of the Talisay City Police Station, said they found the bodies of Emmanuel, Melinda, Heether, Emlin and  Deñiega in the living room.

Elaine was found dead inside her bedroom, he added.

They were all taken to the Talisay City District Hospital but were declared dead by physicians.

Espina said Emmanuel, who had a gunshot wound in the right temple, was still moving when he was taken to the hospital where he died later.

The police recovered seven empty shells from a .45-cal. pistol, one deformed slug, a metal fragment and a .45-cal. pistol still loaded with two bullets.

Daan said she was aware of the couple’s marital woes as Melinda confided to her during their Tabunok Homeowners Association meetings.

She said that Melinda would tell her that Emmanuel would hit her during their fights. At one time, she said Emmanuel poked a knife at her.

Daan said their children would side with Melinda.

The usual cause of their arguments was jealousy as Emmanuel would get mad at Melinda whenever she arrived home late due to her job as BDO branch manager in Tabuan, Cebu City.

But according to Melinda, Emmanuel had extramarital affairs. Melinda once took a call from Emmanuel’s alleged mistress, according to Daan.

Daan said Emmanuel started to change following his accident 10 years ago when he fell on board the ship and hurt his head. He was confined in an intensive care unit after he underwent a surgery in the head.

Although he recovered, Emmanuel was not allowed to return to work.

By then, Emmanuel was able to build his family a house in Talisay and bought them two Toyota Innova vans.

He also bought several pieces of property including a house in Talisay as well as an apartment in Barangay Labangon and a lot in Barangay Mabolo, both in Cebu City. He had these pieces of property rented out.

Daan said Emmanuel might have had problems with his marriage but overall, he was a good man. They didn’t expect him to kill his family, she added.

Daan said she understood why Emmanuel spared his youngest daughter. “Pinangga gyud kaayo niya nang bataa (He loved that girl so much),” she added.

Daan said Embrelaince was turned over to her aunt, Thelma Billones, a resident of Barangay Tabunok.

Police described the shooting as among the most shocking involving members of one family in the relatively peaceful central region.—With a report from Edison de los Angeles, Inquirer Visayas, and AFP

Originally posted at 02:55 pm | Sunday, October 16, 2011