Jealousy, drugs caused killings

CEBU, Philippines - He was sorry about what he did but the apology may hold no water now that his victims – his three children and mother-in-law, are gone.

Shock and devastation took over Jumelyn Figues the moment she learned her own husband took the life of her two daughters, son, and that of her mother.

The incident happened at their house on Sunday in the northern town of Catmon while Jumelyn was at work at the Mactan Export Processing Zone in Lapu-Lapu City.

“Giduol ko’s line leader namo ngadto… papaulion daw ko kay emergency. Nangutana ko unsa nga emergency? Niana ra man, basta kay emergency, pagpirma na og emergency leave (Our line leader approached me and told me there was an emergency at home. I asked what kind but I was only told to file for an emergency leave),” she shared with The Freeman yesterday.

She admitted thinking that her husband, Eric, had committed suicide, because he reportedly would keep her sending text messages that he would do so.

“Akong huna-huna nga nagpakamatay siya…iyang text kung mamatay siya ari sa amoa… wa ko magtuo nga iyang gidamay akong anak (What was in my mind was him committing suicide… his text said he would do it at our house if he would do so… I never thought he would kill our children),” she said in between tears.

It was only when she reached home at night that she learned finally that Eric had stabbed to death their six-year-old daughter, Stephanne, who was celebrating her birthday, as well as their two other children John Eric, four, and Erica Lynn, one.

Eric also killed Jumelyn’s mother, Emilda, 47, before taking his own life with the same knife.

Stephanne wanted to be a teacher while John Eric wanted to become a policeman.

“Basin gusto sad niya nga mosunod ko, Ambot sir uy, di gyud ko kadwat sa nahitabo (Maybe he wanted me to do the same…I don’t know sir, I still can’t accept what happened),” she said.

She said she was not able to return home for her daughter’s birthday because she did not have any money to spend. The last time she saw Staphanne alive was last Saturday, also the last time she went home.

“Akong nahinumduman, sir, gigakos ko sa akong kamagwangan, gitungtungan ko sa manghod. Akong gi-touch ang ig-agaw niya dili siya mosugot (I remember my eldest hugged me and my younger child hopped on to me. He didn’t want me to touch their cousin),” she recalled.

The incident

Sr. Insp. Jose Rovic Villarin, Catmon Police chief, said Eric used an 11-inch jungle knife in killing the victims and himself.

The victims reportedly sustained at least 10 stab wounds each and the sad part, Villarin said, was that the children were not even able to ask for help.

“Naa man tay tawo sa atbang, wa man gyuy nanghilak (There were people across but they never heard a cry),” Villarin said, adding, it is possible that Erica Lynn and John Eric were killed first.

The grandparents were reportedly preparing lunch for Stephanne’s birthday when Eric reportedly shouted, “pasayloa ko, pa ug ma (forgive me, father and mother)!”

The grandparents rushed to the other house but it was reportedly locked. When they forced the door open, Eric was already waiting for them and stabbed Emilda. He also tried stabbing Josepher but the father-in-law managed to run and ask for help.

When Josepher returned to the house, he still reportedly saw Eric crying before the latter stabbed himself in the neck and fell to the floor.

Signs

Police recovered suicide notes from Eric’s house, as well as from his parents’ house in Talisay City.

In one note, he asked for forgiveness from his family and his wife and asked his children to be good and obey their mother when he would be gone. In another piece of paper, he sketched what resembled a family but with an “x” mark on top of a figure with his name on it. Near it is a drawing of his wife and child crying. At the bottom left of the page, he wrote his name and date of birth, including the date “October 2014”, minus the specific day.

Jumelyn disclosed that Eric had sent her text messages telling her to go live with her alleged lover. She denied having one.

“Iyang mga text, pakuyogon ko’s akong laki… kung manglarga mi sa akong laki, ipahapit sa Talisay akong mga anak kay mohangop siya nila (He had been texting me to live with my lover… that if my lover and I would go and live somewhere else, we drop by Talisay first so he could hug our children),” she said.

“Asa man ka ana nga estorya nga wala man gyud ko nagbuhat ana… wala gyud sir uy kay naa koy mga anak babaye (I don’t know how he came up with the story because I don’t have any lover. Not at all, sir, because I had female children),” she added.

Background

Jumelyn said they have been together for seven years and Eric was a good husband and father to their children.

She said Eric’s attitude changed when he started taking illegal drugs and when he lost his job because of it, just after their first child was born.

“Na-konduktor siya sa Ceres… grabe na siya maka-drugs, mao to iyang naundangan sa Ceres. Ana siya nga lisod na og mobalik siya… naa silay anak… construction na man lang siya. Di na kaigo iyang kita, mag-drugs pa siya (He used to be a conductor at a Ceres bus but lost his job because he took drugs. He said it was difficult for him to back so he went into construction. He was earning too little yet he was taking drugs),” Jumelyn said.

Despite this, she reportedly was not angry with her husband that much. She would reportedly rebuke him at times but Eric would remain silent. She said Eric was caring both to her and their children but he could also be jealous.

She said Eric would always run to his parents when he had problems and would not share them with her.

Opinion

Dr. Rene Obra, chief of the Center for Behavioral Sciences at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), said the use of illegal drugs might have caused Eric to reach the stage of paranoia, which in turn, might have triggered the commission of the crime.

Based on the suicide note, Obra said Eric might already be experiencing withdrawal depression from using the drugs.

He said it might also be possible that Eric was experiencing hallucinations and might have heard a voice telling him to kill the victims. However, he might also have felt guilt after killing them that is why he killed himself. — /JMO   (FREEMAN)