Student killed in Murcia game farm stabbing

BACOLOD CITY — Police are investigating the killing of a 20-year-old senior high school student who was stabbed at a gamefowl farm in Purok New Site, Barangay Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental, shortly after midnight Thursday.

Police Capt. Honey Labaro, chief of the Murcia Municipal Police Station, said the victim was sleeping outside a nipa hut while his 18-year-old companion slept inside when about four unidentified individuals arrived at the farm.

The victim awoke as his companion was allegedly struck in the head with a hard object and lost consciousness.

When the companion regained consciousness, he found the victim wounded.

Labaro said the victim sustained stab wounds to his chest near his right armpit and to his neck and was declared dead at a hospital.

The victim, who was from Iloilo, had moved to Negros Occidental to stay with a relative who owned the farm and continue his studies, Labaro said.

He was a Grade 12 student at Minoyan High School and worked as a caretaker at the farm, according to police reports.

Labaro said investigators had not determined whether robbery or a personal grudge motivated the attack.

Police were also checking a possible theft of fighting cocks while the farm owner completed an inventory.

The investigation is ongoing.