Man shot dead after killing his family in fire

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A distraught man set his house on fire, killing his wife, two children and mother-in-law, in a coastal village here before dawn last Sunday, police said.

But what puzzles probers is who shot suspect Nurwin Vasquez dead, as he was later found lifeless with bullet wounds in the back near his house.

Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, city police chief, said Vasquez’s beighbors heard an explosion from his house at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, after which flames engulfed his dwelling.

Firefighters later found the burnt remains of Vasquez’s wife Rosalyn, children Jeian and Jumadir aged two and one, respectively, and mother-in-law Saddan, 48.

“We suspect that Vasquez set the house on fire because he had been heard quarreling with his wife on several occasions and threatening (to burn them all),” De Ocampo said.

“But what puzzles us is who shot him dead,” he added.