Suspect in killing of woman, son in Masbate jail found dead

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The inmate who hacked to death a woman and her 15-year-old son at the Masbate provincial jail compound was found dead in his cell Monday morning, police said.

The body of Rey Esparraguera, 33, who killed Tessie Basilica, 50, and her son  Jayson and critically wounded another  inmate, Rommel Buhia, with a 22-inch bolo last Sunday, was found inside cell number nine at around 1 a.m., said Superintendent Renato Bataller, Bicol police spokesperson.

Prison guards and inmates said they saw Esparraguera banging his head on the wall and shouting a few hours after the killing.

Esparraguera’s body was brought to a hospital for autopsy.