PH Murder Stories

On November 18, 2009, one of the most controversial road rage incidents and manhunts of the 2000s happened in the Philippines. The victim, in this case, was Renato Ebarle Jr., a son of a former presidential chief of Staff, Renato Ebarle Sr. He was shot and killed by Jason Ivler, a nephew of singer and songwriter Freddie Aguilar. Witnesses saw the suspect go over to his victim's car and shoot h...

"Tell my kids I love them," were the final words Rhona Fantone said to her sister, Rhoda, on the phone. Rhona and her husband, Jay Barcelon, were having marital problems. Rhona decided to stay with her sister, who lived only 15 minutes away but had to retrieve her belongings and clothes from her residence. Sadly, her estranged husband was present, and a violent fight occurred. Both ended...

Digital Forensics was unheard of in the early 1990s. Its breakthrough has led to various crime-solving practices that most law enforcement agencies worldwide utilize nowadays. It makes us wonder, how did it evolve in the first place? Well, in our episode for today, you'll find out why. In 1991, the murder of Julie Snodgrass in the Philippines was the case that paved the way for the evolution of Di...

Have you wondered why bad things happen to good people? It shatters our hearts when uncalled-for things happen to people with golden hearts. In October 2016, Gerardo Maquidato Jr. was one of the driver awardees of Grab Philippines recognized for giving a courtesy ride to a sick passenger. His story went viral after the passenger's family posted about him on Facebook. Divine Lactao Ornum booked a G...

On August 6, 2008, just a few moments before celebrating her 23rd birthday, Tara Santelices and her best friend Joee Mejias were heading home from a gig. Both took a Rizal-bound jeepney ride. Little did they know back then that it would be the last jeepney ride that Tara would ever take as a robber ended up taking her life into his own hands, making this incident one of the most tragic jeepney rob...

Hostage-taking situations are one of the most discussed cases in the Philippines. After all, most of these kinds of incidents in the country conclude very badly and, in other instances, deadly. The incident at the Taguig Hall of Justice in 2007 caught the entire country’s attention as a movie stuntman, and his common-law-wife held four people hostage for an entire day, ironically, inside a place w...

Kristelle "Kae" Davantes was a 25-year-old hardworking professional filled with high hopes and dreams, only to be disrupted by a group of heartless men capable of committing sinister acts to make ends meet. Kae's demise in 2013 was one of the most horrific cases in the Philippines. She was robbed, abducted, strangled, stabbed, and thrown off a bridge. Her killers didn't even give her a chance to l...

Have you watched the hit horror movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose? If yes, have you ever wondered if someone from the Philippines has experienced the same thing or even worse? Well, if you have, the story of Clarita Villanueva comes to mind. She was a 17-year-old orphan from Bacolod that moved to Manila in the early 1950s to work as a maid at first, but after eloping with a man who turned out to be...

On July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace, one of the world's most respected and admired fashion icons, was on his usual early morning routine, getting coffee and magazines at his preferred cafe three blocks away from his posh mansion in Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, Florida. Afterward, Gianni Versace went back home, and as soon as he reached the marbled front steps of his mansion, a dark-haired man wearing kn...

Like most people, we get fascinated by how the mind of a killer works, why a particular person got murdered, and when they will catch the suspect. PH Murder Stories is a podcast that intends to provide quality content and thorough research about murder and related infamous crimes primarily in the Philippines. The creators of this podcast do not tolerate fake news. This is an attempt to break the s...

On January 18, 1961, one of the most infamous murders in the 1960s jolted the entire nation after news reports came out about a policeman who committed suicide after shooting his very own wife, daughter, and son-in-law. This story features the Cabading family murders. It was a tragic case of a father's wrath that turned into a deadly rampage. Pablo Cabading, the father, persuaded Lydia, his daught...

In February 2014, a gruesome incident happened in the town of Ampatuan, Maguindanao, that shocked locals in the area after investigators discovered a mutilated body of a middle-aged woman without her internal organs. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time that a notorious crime happened in Ampatuan, as the area was more infamously known for being the site of the Maguindanao Massacre, one of the...

There's a saying. Heroes come and go, but legends are forever. Nieves Fernandez was a legendary Filipina guerilla leader from the province of Leyte that unbelievably fought against the Japanese forces during the height of World War II. Her courageous efforts in fending off the country's enemies at the time earned her the nickname, The Silent Killer. WEBSITE ▸ https://phmurderstories.com Episode no...

On New Year's Eve of 2011, 35-year-old Reynaldo Dagsa, a Barangay councilman from Caloocan City, requested his family to wake him up before midnight to join in on the new year's festivities in the wonder of the fireworks around them. He was taking pictures of his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law outside their home on New Year's Day when the gunman, Arnel Buenaflor, came from behind a car and cold...

On May 16, 2008, eight bank employees, a security guard, and a depositor were lined up and blown out their heads after a group of men robbed the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) located at Science Park Branch in Cabuyao, Laguna. This summary execution-style robbery was tagged as the bloodiest bank robbery in the country's history, as they were all sprawled on the floor with a single gun...

​Every generation has had its own share of "It" girls. These icons were trendsetters when it came to fashion and lifestyle, and everyone who's anyone wanted to be like them; or even have just a whiff of their aura. Their legacies stood the test of time. They would eventually be known for years, even decades beyond their lifetime. During the 1950s in the Philippines, one such "It" girl was Elvira M...

On May 4, 2022, a 51-year-old mentally disabled woman was found dead inside her house located in the town of Sibonga, 51 kilometers southeast of Cebu City. Authorities quickly figured out what happened after the victim's 19-year-old son confessed that he killed his own mother because he could not stand the bullying he's been getting from his friends and classmates due to her mental illness. WEBSIT...

On June 7, 2017, then-Mayor Gisela Boniel of Bien Unido, Bohol, was abducted and presumed killed after her husband, former Board Member Niño Rey Boniel pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife in February 2022.   In the past five years, there have been a lot of twists and turns in this case that ended up with the most obvious conclusion. However, there is more to this story that needs to be t...

On September 19, 2014, during typhoon Mario's rampage in the Philippines, a 75-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her house helper after the latter was discovered stealing items inside her home. The victim was Zenaida Sison, the mother of actress Cherry Pie Picache, who lived alone at her two-story house on Lazcano Street, Barangay Paligsahan, Quezon City. Her killer's name is Michael Flores....

In September 2016, a British aristocrat’s daughter involved in the illegal drug trade in the Philippines was killed amid the government's controversial War on Drugs. Many spectators have pointed toward the Philippine National Police. However, investigators suspect that her former boyfriend was behind the brutal slaying. Maria Aurora Moynihan was a 45-year-old British-Filipina woman who was linked...

On July 2, 1991, Eldon Maguan, a 25-year-old engineering student, was driving around Wilson Street in San Juan, Metro Manila. Wilson was said to be a one-way street, and Eldon knew about it as he was the one that followed traffic rules. Unfortunately for Eldon, even those who profusely follow traffic regulations do not exempt them from being victims of violent crime. It is where then-43-year-old R...

On July 7, 1993, Marikina's notoriety as the rape and murder capital of the Philippines would get emphasized after a body of a young woman was found in a covered canal located in Barangay Parang, Marikina City. According to authorities, the victim was raped and tortured before being mercilessly killed by her perpetrators. Upon seeing her lifeless body, she was naked from the waist down, her lips c...

In the wee hours of July 13, 1991, three young people, two boys, and one girl were on their way to bring their female friend home to her residence in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City. Suddenly, the three encountered an angry middle-aged man that didn't seem to mind the business of others. He started snooping on the youngsters and began questioning them on why they were outside at that time of the d...

This episode was suggested to us by Ms. Emerald Sigua, who participated in our Donate For A Case program in partnership with the Rotaract Club of Taguig through their relief efforts intended for the victims of Typhoon Odette. A body of a 19-year-old boy was found chopped into pieces and buried at a private compound in Barangay Ampid Dos, San Mateo, Rizal. Days before the gruesome crime happened, a...

On January 16, 2004, authorities in Hopewell Township, New Jersey, found a lifeless body belonging to a Filipina inside her Sports Utility Vehicle covered in snow in the bottom of a ravine near her residence. Initial investigations suggest that she was a victim of foul play made to look like an accident. The gruesome killing of Michelle Rivera Nyce was one of the most sensationalized cases on the...