Summary
Name:
Domingo SalazarYears Active:
1956Status:
DeceasedClass:
Mass MurdererVictims:
16Method:
Stabbing / Bladed assaultNationality:
PhilippinesSummary: Mass Murderer
Name:
Domingo SalazarStatus:
DeceasedVictims:
16Method:
Stabbing / Bladed assaultNationality:
PhilippinesYears Active:
1956Date Convicted:
October 24, 1956Domingo "Darquez" Salazar was a Moro native of Zamboanga. He was 42 years old in 1956.
He lived in Barangay San Nicolas, Roxas, Palawan. He lived there with his common-law wife, Máxima Pacho.
Domingo "Darquez" Salazar killed 16 people in Barangay San Nicolas, Roxas, Palawan, on October 11, 1956.
Salazar suspected his common-law wife, Máxima Pacho, of having an affair with Fortunato Nares and thought the child she was carrying was not his. On the morning of October 11, he asked Máxima to gather nipa with him. Máxima's pregnant sister, Romana, came and invited Máxima to get palay at her house. Máxima refused to go with Salazar. Salazar armed himself with a spear and a bolo knife. He first killed Romana, then fatally attacked his wife Máxima and his nephew Fortunato Nares Jr.
After those attacks, Salazar moved through the village and entered four houses, killing everyone he found in them. At the school compound he stabbed Manuel Adion in the back with his spear. Adion was severely wounded but escaped. Salazar chased Pablo Páz and Severino Adion and threw his spear at them, missing both. He tried to enter the schoolhouse, but the teacher had locked and barricaded the doors and windows. Salazar then went to the local chapel and tolled the bell to call people. He asked to be killed, but no one did.
Two armed guards and a barrio officer later came and persuaded Salazar to surrender by promising to shoot him at the wharf after he signed a paper. When Salazar laid down his arms and was about to affix his thumbmark, he was subdued and arrested.
On October 24, 1956, the chief of the Puerto Princesa Hospital examined Salazar and declared him normal and sane. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to death once for each of the 16 murders and given multi-year prison terms for frustrated and attempted murder. He was fined and ordered to pay the heirs of his victims ₱3,000. During his appeal on June 30, 1959, the court kept the sentence but found his confession and admission of guilt mitigating. The convictions for the murders of his wife Máxima, Romana Pacho, and Fortunato Nares were changed to reclusión perpetua, and the indemnity payable to the victims' relatives was raised to ₱6,000.
