Man kills nephew, sets self on fire in Negros

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A 34-year-old man died after setting himself on fire following the fatal stabbing of his 14-year-old nephew in Barangay 2, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Police Lt. Col. Nazer Canja, chief of the San Carlos City Police Station, said the suspect had asked his nephew earlier that morning to get gasoline.

After retrieving the gasoline, the minor reportedly went to sleep.

The suspect then suddenly attacked him with a kitchen knife, inflicting three fatal stab wounds.

He then ran to the second floor of his parents’ house, where a fire later broke out.

When the Bureau of Fire Protection-San Carlos declared the fire out, firefighters found the charred body of the suspect in a prone position, with an electrical wire around his neck.

Police believe the gasoline he had asked his nephew to retrieve was used to start the fire.

Canja said the suspect’s wife told investigators they noticed a change in his behavior after he returned from Cebu, where he had worked as a solar panel installer since March.

The wife claimed the suspect became depressed after learning that a woman he allegedly had an affair with in Cebu was pregnant.

She also said he had been receiving threats from the woman’s family.

Authorities are looking into depression as a possible motive.

Canja said the suspect allegedly had a history of violent behavior, with police previously responding to reports involving him.

The suspect had been staying at his parents’ home since returning from Cebu.

His nephew, who was also living in the house, was being cared for by their grandmother, Canja added.