Houseboy kills co-worker, holds 2 hostage

A 23-year-old woman was stabbed to death while two other women were wounded when a houseboy staged a two-hour hostage drama at a relatively quiet neighborhood in Quezon City yesterday morning.

Police identified the fatality as Loida Villaranda and the other victims as Ronnalyn Carias, 24, and Jennylyn Toriesil, 18. All three were stay-in workers at a compound along Don Manuel street in Barangay Sto. Domingo.

Suspect Jerwin Monteman, 23, was arrested after he tried to escape by setting the stock room on fire. He has been detained at the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 1 in La Loma. He will be charged with murder, homicide, and arson.

According to initial investigation, Monteman suddenly barged into the quarters of the three women around 7:30 a.m, and repeatedly stabbed Villaranda with a kitchen knife.

Police surmised that the commotion roused Carias and Toriesil from sleep, prompting Monteman to drag the two women into the stock room, where he held them hostage.

Police said Carias managed to flee from Monteman despite sustaining a head wound when the suspect beat her with a steel bar. She was able to seek help from barangay security personnel, who in turn called the police. 

When the police arrived at the scene, Monteman reportedly tried to flee by starting a fire outside the stockroom. However, the fire ignited some plastic products and chemicals that produced a thick smoke, flushing Monteman out of the stockroom and into the arms of waiting police officers.

After the smoke cleared, police recovered the body of Villaranda, her underwear pulled down to her legs, at the workers’ quarters. She was later found to have suffered five stab wounds, but police have yet to find out if the suspect raped her.

Toriesil, a domestic helper, suffered wounds on her face and hands when Monteman hit her with the steel bar.

Police said Monteman may have killed Villaranda out of hate because the suspect complained about Villaranda scolding him all the time at work.

Villaranda and Carias serve as assistants to a certain Jimmy Tan, who is engaged in manufacturing fishnets and other plastic products. Tan allegedly owns the compound where the hostage-taking took place.