‘They bathed with blood of victim’

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

SIMILAR to satanic cult rituals, members of the notorious TBS-13 bathed themselves with the blood of a taxi driver who hailed from Guimaras province.

Based on the latest autopsy report, Ken, 15, Toto, 17, and John, 14, (not their real names) stabbed and slashed driver Walter Ermita 28 times using a knife fashioned from scissor blades.

Ermita suffered 22 stab wounds and 6 slash wounds in various parts of his body, according to Dr. Noel Martinez, PNP medico legal officer.

The wounds which may have killed Ermita were in his left check, neck and chest.

Martinez said the wounds have different width but with identical depth, indicating the possibility that more than one weapon was used in killing the victim.

The medico legal officer said the suspects are not professional or “skilled” killers because of the numerous wounds inflicted on the victim.

“A professional killer will only inflict one or two blows to eliminate the victim,” he added.

The three suspects, who are now in the custody of an institution catering to children in conflict with the law, were tagged to Ermita’s death after witnesses saw them fleeing from his taxi parked at Villa Carolina Subdivision, Arevalo, Iloilo City.

The witnesses also saw blood in the suspect’s clothing and face while they were escaping.

Ken is believed to be a full-fledged member of the TBS-13 gang and was supervising the final initiation rites of neophytes Toto and John.

Robbing and killing taxi drivers are part of TBS-13’s initiation rites, according to information gathered by the Iloilo City Police Office.